We are NOT soul mates
by Miyo-Nani
Summary: Will Solace and Nico di Angelo do not get along. Child of light. Child of darkness. Pretty natural stuff? What happens when after an argument at the campfire, Aphrodite marks them as soul mates and the champions for her quest. Surely a quest across country with your soul mate/rival can't be good for the mental health. Solangelo (Rated T for language)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! New multi-chapter! And guess what? It's Solangelo! I always read these stories that only have four-seven chapters and than they are kinda abandoned... I can say, you won't have to worry about that from me. I always make it a point to finish my fanfictions, no matter what gets put on my plate.**

 **Little different concept this time. Nico and Will are rivals! Like anybody would suspect, the sun gods son and the Underworld god's son do not get along. But they are linked together as soul mates by the oracle of Delphie and choosen to fullfill a request by Aphrodite herself.**

 **Lots of adorable arguments ensure.**

 **Rate and review and chapters will be posted faster! Encouragement can only speed me up.**

 **Let's get this party started.**

 _Two souls bound through time._

 _One in darkness._

 _One in light._

 _One prevailed in deep despair_

 _Both will fall lost in fair._

 _Skies are falling, hide bellow_

 _Hands are bleeding, don't let go._

 _With first breath, a final wish._

 _With first love, a final kiss._

The oracle closed her mouth gently and laid back in her chair in the attic. The boy who had witnessed the sudden prophecy starred at the scene with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. His hands shook. The small box he had been sent up to retrieve trembled lightly in his hands.

The oracle spoke.

The oracle hasn't spoken in years, after all, it the oracle spirit had been absorbed into Rachel Dare. The discarded puppet in the Big House attic that once contained it was little more than just that. The lights and the attic dimmed to a flickering glow once more, and the light of the spirit of the Oracle flickered from the puppets eyes and the entire room went as calm as it had been when the boy had entered.

It was almost as if it had never happened. As if the oracle had never spoken, and a prophecy had not been brought forth.

The box clattered at his feat as his hands lost their strength and the boy stepped toward the exit hesitantly.

"Ch-ch-Chiron!" He shouted, bursting through the door behind him and toward the central office of the camp leader.

 **Chapter one-Will Solace**

"I couldn't give two shits about your latest experiment, Solace. You're not getting any seeds." _Gods I wanted to strangle this self entitled little brat._ How old was he anyway? Fourteen, Fifteen? Okay, so my age but I was deffinetly more mature than him mentally.

"Lou Ellen is a daughter of Hecate. She said the poison in the pomogranate seeds will be counteracted by the Sea Nymph scales. Take one for the team and go ask your step mom for a few!" I exasperated, my hands clawing at the air above me, showing my aggravation.

This brooding Italian kid was getting on my nerves. He chuckled humorlessly.

"Oh, I'll take one for the team alright. By **NOT** giving poisonous underworld seeds to the same girl who turned half of her cabin into lizards last winter." Nico di Angelo said while attending to the stock room in the Big House. He hardly looked at Will Solace as he counted boxs of necture, ambrosia, and basic supplies.

"Why do you have to be so frustrating? You're always brooding by yourself. I'm going to get you a t-shirt that says, _'Don't talk to me, I literally have the worst personality ever_.' Consider it a gift." I snapped at him. Nico set down his clip board and rounded on me. The temperature in the room dropping. Probably one of his Underworld-y powers.

"The only _gift_ I want from you right now Solace is to take your shitty sense of humor and shove it up your ass." I was slightly taken back by his language. His sister, the shockingly innocent Hazel from the Roman camp, would turn beat red and start fanning her face the second she even heard a curse word. Apparently such sensitivity didn't extend to her older brother.

"You've got quite the ass fetish di Angelo." I snapped. "Am I gonna turn around and find the supply room door locked?"

Nico's eyes widened and I could have sworn I saw the tiniest hint of a blush reach his face.

"D-don't flatter yourself Solace. Don't you have useless hippy songs to go sing?" I started to realize that replying was probably a bad idea. Nico was getting severly annoyed, at least, more than he already was. I turned on my heels, and marched out of the supply room. Making sure he could see the rude gesture I threw his way on my way out.

"Will!" Lou Ellen shouted. I hesitated. I knew exactly what she was going to ask. She bounded up to me happily, completely sure that I had suceeded in my mission.

"Did you get the seeds from Nico?" I sighed and turned to her. My best friend of five years running. Shockingly.

"Of course not. He told me to shove my request up my ass." I muttered. Lou Ellen looked at me for a moment before bursting out in a loud laugh. I watched with narrowed eyes as she double over herself, her chest heaving with silent laughter.

"Are you done?" I asked her. "We have a shift at the infirmary."

"Hardly." Lou Ellen said laughed. "That's hilarious."

"Next time, you go and ask him."

Lou Ellen nudged me with her shoulder and we set off toward the infirmary.

"No! We're losing him! Quick, Lou Ellen, we need 300 cc's of Hydrogen Oxide." I willed, working frantically over the table.

Lou Ellen sat with her foot upon her desk, reading the latest Olympic issue of ' _Magic and Other Modern Tools.'_

"You mean water?" Lou Ellen muttered in a monotonous voice while turning the page of her magazine.

"Focus, women!" I shouted as I opened the cooling compartment to my left and pulled out several chilled jars.

I grabbed the first jar.

"Now that I have the proper tools. _Lettuce_ begin."

Lou Ellen peaked at me from behind her magazine.

"Will." she warned. "Don't start." I pretended not to hear her.

"Come on little guy." I whispered. "You gotta pull through. You got me in a pickle here. I just don't know what to do." I whispered softly.

"And now you're rhyming." she muttered.

"Get the defibrillator! He'll be toast if we don't hurry."

"Die in a hole."

"He's... gone." I whispered. Slowly reaching down and grasping my sandwich, I held it close to my chest. "He's white as a ghost." I muttered.

"I seriously, just barely tolerate you."

"He mustered up all the strength he could." I muttered as I placed the sandwhich on a plate and carried it back to my desk.

"This is the last time I eat dinner with you." Lou Ellen muttered. I laughed and bite into my late dinner.

"What else do you want me to do? The infirmary has been dead all day."

"Probably not the best analogy to use." Lou Ellen muttered. I silently agreed and polished off my sandwich when the door opened to the infirmary.

"Ah, Lou Ellen. William Solace." Chiron entered infirmary and I noticed a troubled look on his face, thinly veiled through a smile.

"Chiron!" I said happily. "What can I do for you." Chiron stepped toward out desks and opened his arms.

"Why, go enjoy the camp fire of course! I've come to relieve both of you! A camp fire is just not the same without the Head Counsuler of the Apollo cabin there!" Chiron said.

"Hey!" Lou Ellen protested in a teasing mannor.

"And a daughter of Hecate." Chiron corrected himself. We both thanked Chiron happily as we stood from our chairs and hung up out coats. Chiron nestled himself into his custom made desk and began to sort through paperwork.

"Will." Chiron said before I could follow Lou Ellen out the door. I stopped and turned around to face him.

"Yes sir?" I asked. Chiron seemed to hesitate for a moment before smiling reasuringly.

"If anything weird happens... Don't panic." He said cryptically.

"Weird?" I asked feeling a sense of dread wash over me. Chiron's words sounded odly like a warning.

"Just a word of advice my boy." He said brightly and shooed me out the door. On my walk to the camp fire, Lou Ellen chatted animatedly and I tried to follow along without dwelling on Chiron's cryptic 'words of advice'.

"I can't believe di Angelo is here." I muttered angrily. He sat between Percy Jackson and Jason Grace. Surrounded by seven of the most popular kids in camp. How they constantly put up with Nico di Angelo's aggravating attitude is beyond me.

"Why don't you two just make out and get it over with? There is so much sexual tention between you two, I could cut it with a lukewarm spoon." Lou Ellen muttered while toasting a marshmellow on a stick.

"Don't make me gag." I muttered. I mean, sure I liked guys. Most, if not all, of Apollo's children were pansexual. I didn't really see genders when considering potential mates.

Nico di Angelo, who I mostly saw frowning, was smirking lightly at Jason Grace as he recalled one of his most likely heroic tales. di Angelo said something and Jason shrugged his shoulders and through his arm around his girlfriend, Piper.

"Will!" Some younger members from cabin eight bounded up to me. "Did you get the seeds for the new mist balls?" one of them asked. I sent a glare toward di Angelo, who seemed to feel it on the back of his neck and glared right back at me.

"No." I said not beaking eye contact with him. "I was denied by some stubborn ass." I made sure to say it loud enough for Nico to hear. His eyes narrowed and he stood up from his spot on his log and marched over to me.

"You have something to say, Solace?" Nico asked.

"I don't know, di Angelo. Do you have something you want to give me?" I challanged, standing up as well and meeting Nico halfway. The camp fell silent. Conversations stopped and the only sound that could be heard was the large camp fire crackling in the distance.

"The only thing I want to give you is a punch to your arrogant face." Nico growled. I laughed.

"You always act so tough, di Angelo. I'd love to see those words in action." Nico scowled and for a moment looked like he was about to lunge at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "All bark and no bite?" Suddenly I was shoved to the ground with Nico di Angelo on top of me. After getting over the shock I began to wrestle back. Arms pinning him to the ground, flipping him over. I felt my hair being pulled so I used his small frame to my advantage and kicked him up and over me. I felt a sharp pain in my should and realized that he had bit me.

"Nico, stop!" I heard Percy Jackson say as he rushed over to pull us apart.

Before he could reach us, a bright white light began emanating from the camp fire. It was so bright and so sudden that Nico and I both broke apart ourselves to shield our eyes from the blinding light.

" _Two souls bound through time._

 _One in darkness._

 _One in light."_

Suddenly, the soft angelic voice disappeared along with the blinding light and the entire camp was left shocked. Nico and I both laid on the ground, starring at the campfire which had now settled down and crackled innocently.

"Holy shit." A voice whispered. I realize that the entire camp was starring at us.

"What?" Nico snapped at them.

"It's a soul string..." Piper muttered. I follower her eyes and noticed a small bright red chain circled around my wrist, and leading to Nico's. Chaining us both together.

Percy reached toward Nico's wrist and touched the chain lightly. Suddenly, my wrist was on fire. Stinging my sensitive skin, it felt like a hot needle was being driven into the place where Percy touched Nico. I let out a howl of pain and Nico turned toward me with wide eyes.

"Don't touch it seeweed brain! It's a soul string! Only Nico and Will can touch it! Are you trying to kill Will?" Annabeth asked rushing to Percy and Piper's side.

Just as Annabeth was explaining this, Lou Ellen touched my own red chain bracelet gently. Awing in the crimson color. Nico let out a similar yelp of pain as me. He cradled his ensnared wrist gently to his chest. I thought he looked like a kicked puppy.

"Don't touch it." Nico hissed at her, and Lou Ellen slunk back in fear of his glare.

"Soul string?" Nico asked rubbing his wrist gently. I swallowed the collecting saliva in my mouth. A sticky mass in my throat making it impossible to answer. Luckily, Piper did for me.

Piper nodded gravely, her eyes not leaving the red chain.

"Aphrodite's personal symbol for soul mates."

 **Well? What did you think of the first chapter?**

 **Also, sorry if there is a few mistakes. I wanted to get this chapter up. I'll go back through and proof read later today.**

 **Let me know in a review! More reviews get faster chapters!**

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 **Twitter- HalHuman**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow Q~Q**

 **The first chapter got a LOT of praise and attention!**

 **I was SOOO happy to read all of your amazing feedback! A lot of you guys like how it wasn't a 'typical three days in the infirmary' fanfic!**

 **I was also getting tired of seeing a typical three day fanfic. I wanted something that i can follow and really get immersed in!**

 **Like my other larger fanfictions, as this goes on I hope that I can work out a deal with any local artists wanting to make some beautiful art!**

 **I love having custom made covers for my stories!**

 **I know it's early but if you are interested, let me know!**

 **Enjoy, and feel free to leave crazy situations that you want rival Nico and rival Will to find themselves in during their journey!**

 ** _Chapter Two: Nico's Point of View_**

"The prophecy was handed to us through the old oracle vessel. It hasn't been active in years. We can't simply ignore the coincidence that we have received such a detailed prophecy only hours before you two were proclaimed as soul mates!"

Chiron paced behind his desk in the Big House, positioned at the top of a hill looming over the many acres of Camp Half-Blood.

I busied myself with the official print of the prophecy. Etched deep into a stone of granite for preservation purposes such as all prophecies that come forth from the oracle's lips. Even if they are the creepy, cracked, wooden ones of the old oracle vessel in the attic. I thought we put things in attics to forget about them... The crimson red chain looped around my wrist itched, but pulsed lightly as if alive. Whenever I tried to itch around it, my fingers would brush the cool metal and Will Solace would react slightly to the feeling. I shuddered at the possibility that the touch could be anything pleasant and refused to fiddle with it further.

I tried to avoid looking at Will Solace. His bright mop of sunny hair offended my eyes, and his tall frame was slightly intimidating. Not to mention his stubborn and aggravating attitude. Always thinking he knows best. Where people should go, how they act, how they should feel. Yes, Will Solace rubbed something wrong in my nervous system since the day we met.

"We can't go on a quest." Will argued, his stupid tan face resting in the palm of his hand as he tried to soothe away head ache. For once, I agreed with him. Being chained to the complete opposite of yourself was nothing but a headache.

"I'm afraid your choices are limited, Master Solace. Aphrodite has chosen you specifically. And I doubt any of us are on terms to defy the Gods." Chiron mused, his hand stroking his beard lightly.

"And she bestowed her soul mark upon the two of you. Like it or not, you are fated to be together."

"We are **NOT** soul mates." Will and I deadpanned at the same time. We both glared at each other from the corner of our eyes. He was nothing like my former crush, Percy. Kind, funny, caring, brave, a real hero. Will Solace was just some aggravating guy who liked to pretend he knew what other felt. He would never know what it is like to crawl your way through the depth of hell. He'd never been so close to death he would think his last breath to be his last. He's never lost everybody he has ever loved and been told in the same day 'get over it'. He's never been told by his father, _'It should have been you._ '. He's never gone through so much pain, loss, and torment only to have some aggravating boy you just met belittle what you're feeling.

Chiron placed both hands on his desk and leaned toward us.

"Like it or not, you're destined for a quest."

"What does Aphrodite even want us to do?"

Chiron looked at us deeply. I felt myself and Will squirm under his intense faze.

"The Myrtle." Chiron said finally.

"Aphrodite's tree?" Will asked, confusion laced in his voice. Chiron nodded and pulled down a map of the Western hemisphere behind him.

"The smooth bark of Aphrodite's tree, The Myrtle, is the primary material for Aphrodite's staff."

"I thought Aphrodite didn't carry a weapon." I asked.

"Not a weapon, but a gift." Chiron explained. "In the olden days, Aphrodite was powerful enough to make mortals fall in love simply by will. With the downfall of the Greek influence, her power became less concentrated. Her son, Eros, sacrificed one of his bows to create a simple staff for her."

"So she broke the staff, and needs some magical tree bark?" I asked. I couldn't really believe that the Goddess of Love required two mortals to go and chop down a tree for her.

"Not broken. But every few hundred thousand years it needs to be refurbished. Only soul mates can pierce the tree. Otherwise, it is solid as rock. And it's common knowledge that God's do not have soul mates." Chiron explained. I wanted to jump up and shout _'But we aren't soul mates. We aren't soul mates. We are_ _ **NOT**_ _soul mates._ I resisted the urge however Chiron shot me a look saying he knew what I was thinking anyway.

"Weather you choose to accept it or not, you are chained together. Proclaimed. You will have to eat together, sleep together. You cannot be in separate rooms from each other. So whatever quarrel you two have, settle it. And go get some sleep. I will have previsions prepared for you to leave at first light."

I wanted to stay and protest, but Will stood from his chair and began walking out of the room. I felt the pull on my wrist and it was like I was yanked from my place by the hands of Zeus himself.

" _A quest_." I heard Will muttering. _"With him of all people_." I scuffed and began to pull back against him.

"You're no lottery prize yourself, sunshine." I growled.

"Well at least I can have a civil conversation with somebody." Will snapped at me.

"HA! I've yet to see that talent!" I shouted. I noticed many campers turn toward our loud voices and decided against making a scene.

"Let's just go back to my cabin. It's late." I muttered.

"Oh no." Will said. "We are bunking in the Apollo cabin tonight."

"Oh with Cheer Counselor Solace and the Brady Bunch? I don't think so." I chided. "Besides, my cabin is empty." I said motioning to the Hades cabin that sat on the edge of the forest.

"I'm not sleeping in the Hades dungeon." Will declared.

"You seriously think I sleep in a dungeon? Do I just sprawl out on the stretch torture table when I wanna read a good book? Tuck myself into the Iron Maiden after a long days work? The fuck is wrong with you?" I asked incredulously. I watched happily as Will's ears turned pink in embarrassment.

"I meant it metaphorically." He muttered but followed me across the green toward my cabin.

For future reference, I remodeled as soon as I moved in. While the cabin on the outside was black and help up with obsidian stone pillars, I had chosen a nice gray tone lilac for the wall color, and decorated with a large queen bed, and dark oak furniture. I had a night stand, several book selves, a dresser, a nice leather couch and a large TV that hung on my wall. A gift from my father.

"This is... surprisingly civil." Will muttered when he entered my living space.

"The vats of acid are in the other room." I muttered sarcastically. I saw Will's eyes flick to the door leading to the spare room, and rolled my eyes. I pulled him (by the chain) toward my wardrobe.

"I need to change." I said pulling out some sweat pants and an old t-shirt. I walked into my bathroom and shut the door in Will's face. I heard a soft thud as he leaned against the door waiting for me to get out. I couldn't shut the door all the way due to the small chain, but enough to ensure he couldn't watch me.

Thankfully, Aphrodite wasn't particularly cruel. When I took off and put on new clothes, the chain allowed it to pass right through. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I could at least change.

I opened the door and was satisfied when I heard Will let out a yelp of pain.

"Watch where you're opening doors." he shouted. I ignored him.

Will walked over to my bed, and I noticed he had changed into a pair of sweat pants also. Not mine, thankfully. I watched incredulously as Will threw himself onto my bed, messing up my tidy covers.

"Um No." I said. "You're sleeping on the floor." I said shoving Will off my bed and watching him land on my floor with a thud. I tossed him the smallest pillow I had and a blanket I had grabbed from the trunk in front of my bed.

"Don't you have a guest room?" Will asked angrily.

"Sure. It's where Hazel stays. But we can't be more than five feet away from each other so shut your face hole, Solace." I said fluffing up my pillows and placing them under my head. Getting nice and comfy.

"I can't sleep on the floor. My back will hurt." Will complained from bellow. I leaned over and shut off the light.

"Good." I said. "Suffer."

I had almost drifted off to sleep when I heard a light shuffling. A clank of cardboard on cardboard. My eyes widened when I realized what Will must be into and I sat up immediately and I glanced down.

Will had found the memory box I keep under my bed. Old black and white pictures of my and my family in Italy, an old journal i used to keep before my mother died. All in Italian. A few other pictures. All ranging from my childhood to a picture Clarise took of me, Jason, Percy, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Annabeth hanging out on the beach. I looked happy in it. Jason had an arm tossed around my shoulder while holding up half of a heart with his hand. I begrudgingly finished the heart surrounded by my other friends. All in crazy positions looking at the camera.

"That's personal!" I shouted snatching the box from Will who had been studying my photos. He didn't flinch or yell back at me when I grabbed the photos. I pulled the box into my bed with me and contoured my body around it protectively.

A few moments passed by and Will finally spoke.

"We could have been friends too." Will whispered.

I didn't expect him to say that. He said it as though it was a decision that had already been made. We could have. But now we can't.

"We're too different." I heard myself say.

We didn't say anything else for the rest of the night. Both staring awake at the ceiling. The darkness all consuming.

"Your previsions are in these bags. Enough for a week. Try not to take too much more time than that." Chiron said. Will and I both strapped on the bags and stood before our camp leader at the boarder of camp. A long, translucent barrier spread across camp shielding us from the outside world. We were both covered in warm clothes. Although we couldn't feel any weather besides warm and sunny in camp, it was mid autumn in the mortal world.

"Get the job done. No bickering." Chiron said.

I heard Will huff and I rolled my eyes. A week with this idiot. Unbearable.

Together, with Chiron's blessing, Will and I stepped over the barrier.

 **Chapter two done! I hope you guys like this one also!**

 **Any artists dying to help me with a cover page yet?**

 **Review are SO appreciated.**

 **Tumblr: HalWrites (fanfic blog) or Miyo-Nani (main blog)**

 **Twitter: HalHuman**


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome to chapter three.**

 **Where I increase Nico's sass levels,**

 **and put Will's rhyming curse to good use.**

 **Haha put me on the curb with the rest of the trash.**

 **~ Hal.**

 **Chapter three: Wills Point of View**

"One room." I muttered sliding the Camp's credit card across the counter toward the hotel attendant. The women was at least forty with pale, watered down blonde hair held up in a frazzled bun. The bags under here eyes indicated poor sleep. I wondered briefly if a brush of my hand would be enough to send her some energy. She looks like she had a long night. And she also looked suspicious. Very suspicious. She glanced up at us from over the top of the credit card. We must have looked like quite a sight. Nico and I were covered from head to toe in cold mud, branches, and twigs. I remember it like it was yesterday. Which is was. We slept in the woods.

 _"Don't push me Solace." Nico snapped as we made out way down the forest covered hill from the barrier of Half-Blood Hill. I winced as a branch sliced a cut into my upper arm. I muttered a quick hymn and the cut sealed itself within seconds. I trudged behind Nico, finding it difficult to keep my balance against the steep slope of the hill. I ran into Nico's back a couple times._

 _"I said stop pushing!" He shouted. "If I fall, we both fall."_

 _"If it will dislodge that stick up your ass, I'll gladly tumble down this hill." I snapped back at him._

 _It only took one more small bump to get us both arguing. I called the son of Hades a few choice words before he turned around to try and shout at me and lost his footing. I saw the look of panic on his face as he began to tilt backwards down the hill. I reached out and grabbed onto his hoodie, hoping to steady him and save us both from suffering the fall._

 _Unfortunately all it did was take me along for the ride. Which it would have anyway, but at least I went down like a true hero._

Which led us here. Covered in mud, smelling like forestry, and patiently awaiting a room key.

"How old are you two boys?" The women at the front desk asked. Nico rolled his eyes, clearly having had the conversation before.

"Eighteen." I answered definitely. The women eyed us, like she was going ask for identification but shrugged and slid the card and handing us our room key. I smiled and grabbed the key happily.

"Let's go." I muttered to Nico only to receive his classic response of,

"Bite me."

"Wait until we get back to the room darling." I muttered angrly and flashed a parting smile to the women at the desk. She shook her head and continued on with her work.

Nico and I stood at odds. Both thinking the same thing. I watched him breath unevenly. He watched me flick my eyes down to the bottle in his hand. How were we going to do this? How could we do this. I felt like I was betraying my own breath as I felt it hitch when Nico opened his mouth to talk.

"If you say anything. I will kill you. Slowly." He growled. I had never seen another boy in his underwear that wasn't my sibling despite my desire to. Nico was small and barely came up to my neck. He reminded me of one of those perpetually angry chihuahuas with his scowl and fidgety nature.

"I'll wait outside the shower, and than we will switch places when you're done." I tried to reason.

"I don't want you in the same room as me while I shower." Nico said and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh why didn't you just say so? Let me just take off this unbreakable chain linking us together." I said while grabbing a towel. The bathroom was big. Not small enough for one of us to wait outside of the door while the other bathes. Nico didn't say anything else as he trudged into the shower and demanded I close my eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself." I muttered before sitting against a wall and closing my eyes like a good soul mate. I heard the ruffle of clothes and the shower come to life. I waiting for the sound of the shower door being shut before I allowed myself to take my hands off my eyes. The water must have been incredibly hot because in the minute that Nico had gotten into the shower, the room was full of steam.

I could see the outline of Nico in the shower. Despite his god awful personality he was a fairly good looking guy. I remembered back to how we first met. He had looked different that what I remembered. I had heard rumors when I was eleven that a son of Hades had been found and he was shockingly cute and small and happy. Not what you would expect from a child of Hades. I had to see such a thing for myself. Nico used to be such a little kid. Than I remember the day he found out his sister died.

We had felt the earth tremble in the infirmary from across the camp. Cabinets shook and the lights flickered above us. The next day I heard Nico had left camp. It was only the beginning of a string of rumors that would become of the child of Hades.

When he came back after the battle of Manhattan, it was the difference between light and day and the first interaction him and I had.

He was standing on the edge of the lake, watching Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase walk along the shore together when I approached him.

"They look good together right?" I had asked.

Nico looked at me. I noticed a look of deep sadness in his eyes. It felt like it could go on forever. A deep darkness that I had only seen in the eyes of the dead.

"What do you know?" Nico muttered before turning back to gaze at the couple.

"Quite a lot actually. Percy talks about her all the time." I watch Nico visually flinch. I remember thinking, he must like Annabeth. It must be hard to like the girl who is dating the boy who was there when your sister died. The boy you blame for your sisters death.

"Don't you have something to do?" Nico growled at me. I was slightly taken back. What on earth had I done to him? Try to make casual conversation?

"I work at the infirmary." I said giving one last attempt at conversation. Nico scowled.

"Oh yeah. I saw you in action at the battle of Manhattan." Nico said not taking his eyes off of the couple who had begun playing in the lake water.

"Yeah. I'm an okay medic." I said careful not to boast. "So you like Annabeth huh?" I asked. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because I saw something in Nico's eyes harden.

"Maybe you should go practice some more. Didn't you lose your cabin counselor?" Nico spat at me and turned around and stomped away. I felt my heart sink at the mention of Micheal. That was the moment I decided that Nico was probably the worst person I had willingly crossed paths with.

"Why do you think Aphrodite marked us as Soul Mates?" I asked Nico. I saw Nico's form halt behind the clouded glass.

"Because she needed somebody to harvest her stupid tree." I heard Nico answer. "And don't talk to me while I'm in the shower. It's weird."

I wondered briefly if Nico was harboring secret feelings for me. It was hard to imagine the boy who had said such awful things to me had a crush on me. And I was sure I didn't feel that way about him. I remember my mom telling my younger sister, _'When a boy is mean to you, it means he likes you.'_

For a moment the image of Nico and I sitting lovey dovey beside the camp fire instead of arguing appeared in my head. Nico had his head resting gently against my shoulder as I strummed a guitar. He told a stupid pun and I laughed and he looked up at me with shinning eyes and laughed too. This Nico was loving, and soft looking and beautiful. Somebody I could fall for. I suddenly pushed the thought out of my head. The hot steam must be getting to me.

Nico shut the water off and we switched places, both careful to keep our eyes covered. I entered the shower and had to keep pushing the thought of 'camp fire Nico' from my mind.

"Why are we here?" Nico asked looking around the room. It was a 50's theme small cafe within the hotel that was hosting a slam poetry night. It was packed with teenagers our age who's eyes seemed to pass over us as if we didn't exist.

"The cable was out in our room. What else were we going to do?" I asked taking a seat.

"Oh I don't know. Focus on the quest." Nico muttered grabbing while a menu. We didn't talk much and I avoided looking directly at him. Thinking that if I caught him in a certain light it would bring back the images from before.

I ordered a mint tea and a bagel and Nico ordered a gelato only to complain that it wasn't as good as his mothers.

The more time I spent with Nico, in which we were both not fighting, the more he seemed like just an average guy. Before I was absolutely positive that he was the biggest douche in the world. Now, he looked like a scrawny boy with a serious case of gallows humor on the hunt for his mothers gelato.

I tried not to think about that to much.

I noticed when I allowed myself to think about Nico as a normal, somewhat cute guy, the crimson chain connecting us would pulse slightly like it was inhaling a deep breath and get slightly brighter. Emitting an unearthly glow for a second before fading back to a normal crimson. A look of confusion would pass Nico's face and we both would carry on as before.

"Excuse me." a man muttered at out table. I looked up. It was just a bartender.

"Would either of you be interested in doing some slam poetry?" He asked timidly, while fidgeting with a pencil and paper. "It's improve."

 _How funny would it be..._ My evil inner voice muttered darkly.

 _Don't do it Will._ My sensible inner voice argued. I didn't listen to that one.

"He would love to." I said to the barrista nodding to Nico. Nico looked at me in shock, his mouth gaping and the bartender wrote down our table number and running off before Nico could argue. After the bartender left, Nico turned his murderous gaze to me.

"I am **NOT** doing that. I don't even do slam poetry." Nico hissed at me. I smirked reached across the table and touched his palm lightly. A bright yellow spark emitted from my fingertips and soaking into Nico's skin. Nico pulled back.

"What did you do?" Nico hissed while inspecting his palm. I sat back and watched. A look of panic crossed his face and he steadied himself in his chair.

"I feel funny. I feel ill. Do I look weird? Do I have a chill?" Nico asked and closed his mouth in confusion at the realization of his new rhyming talent.

"Tell me it's not true. I swear to the gods, Solace. I'm going to kill you." I tried to muffle a laugh at Nico di Angelo rhyming.

"I won't go up there. This won't change my mind. This much I know, This I swear." Nico said, the rhymes flowing from his mouth involuntarily.

I laughed behind my hand, unable to control myself. Nico watched me laugh and his own mouth twitched up into a small smile. I had never seen him smile before. It was both endearing and somewhat odd.

"I suppose it's not that bad. I mean, who knew my rhyming was so rad." I let out a loud laugh only to have an embarrassingly loud snort emit from my mouth. My embarrassing laugh... of course it would surface right now. Nico's eyes widened at my snorting laugh and he began to chuckle softly himself.

We were both laughing at our particular circumstance when the lights dimmed and the same bartender entered the small stage at the front of the cafe.

"And now, our volunteers will begin their slam poetry."

Nico suddenly stopped laughing, but I didn't.

 **Did I say Nico would be sassy? I meant Will. Will is very sassy today.**

 **Sorry to cliffhang the fun.**

 **I wanted to write Nico doing slam poetry from Nico's pov.**

 **Please review!**

 **Tumblr: Fanfiction tumblr: Halwrites or Main Tumblr: Miyo-Nani**

 **Twitter: HalHuman**

 **Seriously reviewing is nice for writers. Because I have no idea what you guys are thinking at all. Reviews are nice. Reviews get love.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Meh.**

It was natural to hide in the shadows at this point. Just a muscle memory after all these years. ' _Don't let them see you'_ was my moto. If they see you, they will know. If they know, everything I've fought for up until now will be ruined. Gone. Poof, like a monster impaled with celestial bronze.

 _There is little more I could due to you, son of Hades. A tortured soul indeed. You gave it all up in the name of love, didn't you?_

The name of love? I remember thinking. _What does the Goddess of eternal pain know about love?_ It wasn't until a painful encounter with Eros did I realize, love and pain go hand in hand. Hell, I could practically see Oizys and Eros laughing over a cup of coffee after a long day's work of crushing souls. Confessing to Percy wasn't painless. You don't spend three years sulking the Earth and Underworld only to brush it all off your with a simple confession. Hiding the pain was hard. But it was muscle memory. Breathe. Open mouth. Guard your words. Breathe.

I couldn't get the look of shock out of my mind. The way Jason Grace's eyebrows shot up, and that _disgusting_ look of empathy on his face when he figured it out.

 _I am the son of Death. I command armies of the dead. I have lost more than you have ever had._

Disappointment. Shock. Pain. Anger. Sadness. _Sympathy_. These emotions were painted across the faces of everybody I've ever loved. I didn't want to see these emotions. I've seen and felt enough of them to last me my entire life.

It's probably why Will Solace rubbed me the wrong way. Why did he talk to me that day on the beach? Why wasn't he running or apologizing like so many others. What was his motive? His angle? What did he want from me? And those stupid smiles. He dispenses them to everyone whether they ask for them or not. Stupid Will Solace and his stupid smiles. I couldn't stand them. All the emotions and reactions I had committed to muscle memory erased with a single bright smirk sent my way.

How do I breath again?

How did he look at me? Like this moment for example, we sat in a crowded cafe just outside of New York. Connected by a chain invisible to mortals besides by pure instinct. And he's cursed me to rhyme, and I should be furious, but the way his eyes sparkled under the cafe lights and the smile frozen in time. I couldn't bring myself to hate him any longer.

I probably never hated him to begin with.

I knew very well how the son of Apollo felt about me. And for that reason, I didn't allow myself to continue with this deranged fantasy of us actually being together.

 _But you're soulmates_ a voice reminded me in the depth of my mind.

How do I breath again?

Soulmates with Will Solace?

Oh yeah. That's how.

"Earth to di Angelo?" Will shouted waving a hand in front of my face. Muscle memory. I reminded myself. You can do this.

"Fuck off, Solace. What do you want?"

"It's your turn."

I glanced between him and the stage. We were sitting right in front so it probably wouldn't be necessary for Will to follow me up there. He could stay comfortably seated as I embarrassed myself in a cafe full of college kids. I briefly thought that Percy and Annabeth would blend in well with this crowd.

Percy would crack a stupid joke, and the college kids around him would laugh and shake their heads, and Annabeth would punch his shoulder muttering something about maturity. Percy would just fling his arm around her and laugh.

The only person who stood out in the crowd as I walked up to the small stage was Will. The people seated at the small tables regarded me with a look of confusion. A short, Italian boy who looked like he sat in a dark room and cursed people all day.

They weren't far from the truth.

Will regarded me with an exciting smile large enough to take my eyes off of everybody else in the room. His eyes twinkled with amusement and his entire body seemed to shift toward me in interest. I prayed that if Will saw me flush right now, it was the stage lights berating down on me.

I had to look away. His gaze was going to paralyze me. Scowl. Walk. Breathe.

"Uh, Hello" I began in the microphone and flinching at the feedback. A smooth start.

"Hope everybody's having a good time. Let's just keep it mellow" I saw people in the crowd cringe at my forced rhyming. I waited for the cue from the drummer who began to play a slow beat for me to 'slam poetry' to.

I didn't really need to worry about the rhyming part. I had that down. The issue was what was I going to talk about. I looked out at Will. His eyes hopeful.

The drum beat began.

So did I.

" _I chase the sound of sleep_

 _It sounds just like you're heartbeat._

 _Or was that his heart beat that I remember?_

 _As it pounded in my ears on that night of November._

 _I'm worried about the future._

 _And the past when I couldn't get any nurture._

 _I don't have money for the nice things._

 _But in my world we can live like kings._

 _I've been chasing sleep, chasing sleep_

 _Or maybe I'm only searching for your heartbeat._

 _May it's just my love. My days._

 _My time, My phase._

 _My story, My soul._

 _My future in control."_

I watched Will from the corner of my eye. Did he think this was for him? Was it for him?

" _I know this sounds absurd,_

 _I swear to the gods I give you my word._

 _In times of sickness, and in slack_

 _If you hold my hand I hold yours back._

 _It the sky falls_

 _or forces greater than us calls_

 _I'll stay by you until we're stiff as boards._

 _If only by chance, of a bright red chord."_

I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop the flow of the words from my mouth as they came from my mouth like disgusting word vomit. Will stared at me with a horrid blank look and the smile falling from his face. I couldn't bear it.

 _Fuck it._

I ran from the stage before I had to rhyme another word. I heard light applause and the bartender announce the next poet. What I didn't hear was Solace's voice call out, "Nico wait!"

Did I even want him to chase after me?

I cannot allow myself to get close to another unattainable demigod. Be it Percy Jackson, the all powerful son of Poseidon or the camp 'Go' boy and best field medic known to the history of demigod's, William Solace.

I heard no footsteps pursuing me. I heard no curse in greek as I was demanded to 'get back here'. My eyes widened suddenly in realization.

No annoying voice yelling medical terms.

No footsteps pursuing me.

No Will.

I stopped in my tracks but not before slamming straight into a large, rock solid body. It smelt like rotting corpse and bad vegetables. I gagged and staggered backwards, looking up at my assailant.

He had a nose like a pig and ears that resembled bat ears. His face was constructed out of leathery cow-like skin and he worse and old pressed suit.

"Somebody is severely draining his lover's life line." He sneered and the rancid smell of his breath washed over me like heatwave.

I felt blackness eat around my vision and I felt my knees buckle. I had only a second to glance down at my red chain around my wrist which had now faded to a dull pink. I followed it down the hallway I had just ran down. At the end of the hall, roughly twenty feet back, an unconscious Will Solace was being held up triumphantly by another strange pig-bat creature in a finely pressed suit. His skin was deathly pale, and his limbs hung down beside him like useless luggage.

Being this far away from Will, I felt my life flicker like a weak candle.

How do I breathe again?

 **Sorry for the late update. I had a bunch of schoolwork to catch up on.**

 **What did you think?**

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 **Huh?**

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 **Review please Q~Q**

 **Tumblr: Halwrites (send my one-shot requests! I may get to a few this weekend!)**


	5. Chapter 5

When I woke up it was to a red room and a throbbing headache. The room was painted to look like one of those honeymoon suites that you get while at a resort in Hawaii or something. I tried to sit up but my blurry vision combined with the restraints around my arms and legs stopped me. I was tied to a large circular bed complete with fluffy bedding and heart shaped pillows.

What the hell is going on here?

I moved my head around, trying to grasp my surroundings. I saw reruns of 'I Love Lucy playing on a small television and Nico, tied to the other end of the circular bed. I tried to recall what I was doing before we both ended up in the love nest. Nico was doing slam poetry and then…. and then… I blacked out.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I felt Nico begin to strain against his own bonds.

"Will?" I heard Nico ask.

"Yeah." I swallowed the ball in my throat. "I'm here."

Before Nico could answer the door to the room flew open and two large pig men walked in. They were carrying a briefcase and had pressed suits on like they just walked out of the biggest meeting of their life.

"Amnia and Aneasta." Nico spat. One of the pig men smiled and bent down to examine Nico's face. I watched his mouth contour in disgust as the pig man gently touched Nico's black fluffy hair.

"The feisty one is awake." He muttered. His voice like nails on a chalkboard. Nico drew back and spit right in his face.

"Don't touch me you pig." Nico growled. His hands pulled against the ropes that bound that.

"Nico who are these guys?" I whispered as the the pig men, Amnia and Aneasta moved to the other end of the room and began pulling things from their brief case.

"Aphrodite's sons. A couple of Millennia ago they got into a falling out and have been working against Aphrodite since then."

"Working against?"

Nico's eyes narrowed and he gave one last attempt to undo his restraints before giving up with a sigh.

"They eat the hearts of Soulmates." Nico said. "We should have been more careful."

The pig men walked back over to us. The stench of them rolling in waves around the room. What was worse was that we couldn't go anything but sit there and smell it.

"And we hears' you're 'er tree. but don' worry lil' demigod. We're prepared tah make a deal!" The other pig man said happily. He sounded like he was raised in a swamp somewhere.

"Go fuck yourself." Nico said and glowered at the monsters. "Do you even know who I am?"

The first pig man laughed, which I have identified to be Amnia.

"Oh we know who you are, son of Hades. And even the children of death are susceptible to love." as he said this, Aneasta brought out a large, gnarly looking syringe filled with a bright purple and pink liquid. Nico seemed to recognize it as his eyes widened and he began fighting again.

"Don't fight demigod." Amnia muttered. "Perhaps this will teach you a little empathy." Nico couldn't fight for long and Aneasta plunged the syringe into Nico's neck and injected half of the syrup into his system. He stilled instantly and passed out on the bed.

"Nico!" I shouted. Anesata turned to me with the remaining liquid.

"No." I muttered. I pulled against my ropes. I kicked my legs as best as I could. Anesata didn't waste any time plunging the huge needing into my neck and injecting me with the remaining liquid. I felt it flow through my veins like lava searing a path to my heart. Before I could scream, the room faded to white.

The sun was set. The cottage with lightly lit. A small Italian boy sat in front of a hearth playing with a toy train. He had fluffy black hair like tuffs up like bat wings, and wide brown eyes. His skin was a healthy shade of olive. As he played, he made small conductor commands in Italian, however I found that I could understand was Nico as a child.

In the room, A young women stood speaking with a young man. She spoke quietly in English so not to startle the small Nico playing innocently by the fire.

Nobody in the room seemed to know I was there. Like I was invisible or simply a visitor in the memory. I glanced one last look at Nico and walked toward the adults.

"Italy isn't neutral anymore, Maria!" The man insisted, while grabbing her hands gently.

"The government wouldn't help those _monsters_." The women, Maria, insisted pulling her hands away.

"They are lying Maria. They send supplies, food, clothes, soldiers every day. It's not safe in Venice anymore. You need to take Nico and Bianca and you need to get out."

Nico's mom shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"This is our home. Where will we go?" Maria whispered. She cast a glance at her son who still played happily

Hades stood tall. His black hair and pale skin standing out against the dimly lit cottage.

"Do not fear my love. I will plan it all." Hades leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Maria's forehead and handed her a small envelope.

Maria leaned into his arms and cried softly in them.

Soon, the memory faded like rippling water.

A new memory began to fall into place. Nico was wrapped in a small black coat as he was being pulled by the hand along with his sister and mother through the streets of 1930's Italy. People walked past, and soldiers stood guard on street corners. Maria grasped her childrens hands tightly as she steered them down winding alleyways and finally to the edge of a small pier.

"Sorry ma'am." A soldier said walking up to her from across the pier. "Nobody leave or enters the country in a time of war." I saw Nico grasp his mother's hand more tightly and angled his body so he might be out of sight from the soldier.

Maria pulled out the envelope given to her by Hades and slid it into the palm of the soldier. He took one look at the seal on the envelope, which looked like it was made of tar and charcoal, and quickly ushered Maria di Angelo and her two children onto a small boat that contained trading supplies.

The soldier popped open two crates that sat empty near the center of the boat and ushered the children into one and Maria into the other.

"Mommy." Nico whimpered. Maria hushed him and offered him soothing words in Italian.

"Do not worry, mi amores. We will be free very, very soon."

They sat as fugitives of the law in a crate headed for America.

The memory rippled, and another took its place.

It smelt disgusting. Like charred animals or rotten meat. Will quickly discovered why and fell back onto his ass in shock. Nico sat a few years older now, crouched over his mother who laid dead in the room. Her eyes open, and lightning marks throughout her body.

Bianca had wrapped herself around her brother's back, trying to pull him away from the corpse. "Non la lasci. Non possiamo lasciare." Nico

sobbed in Italian trying to pull himself away from his sister. He reached for his mother but was scooped up into the arms of a strange man who resembled a lawyer and carried from the room. Nico's wails of anguish could be heard as he left.

Other memories flew through me. Memories of Nico's early life. Before I knew him. I could feel things that Nico had felt throughout his life. I felt the devastation of Maria's death. I felt the feeling of hopelessness when he realized they were in the Lotus hotel for seventy years, no longer even belonging in their time. I felt the seed of darkness that began to grow within Nico during his and his sisters days at the boarding school. Loneliness. His sister always near his side but somewhat distant. Always pulling away.

Will felt Nico's shock at meeting his first demigods.

He felt the jolt of instant admiration for Percy Jackson.

And finally, the complete and utter devastation over Bianca's death.

However despite it all, all he did was out of love. Nico had bathed Percy in the river styx out of love and hope. He stood up to his father and rallied the Underworld army out of love and loyalty.

He searched for the doors of death alone in Tartarus out of love. A deep dark abyss that reminded him of his own soul. I felt the hopelessness that seemed to suck the life of of Nico with each stetp he took through the barren wasteland.

" _Already so miserable son of Hades. There is little more I could do to you."_ A voice echoed around the memories that flashed by at the speed of light.

I watched as Nico led the crew of the Argo II to the doors of death out of love and commitment for Percy despite watching him drop into Tartarus. Horror filling him as he watched Percy's sea green eyes fade into the nothingness.

" _Lead them, Nico."_

He hauled the Athena Parthenos out of love and it nearly killed him. But not as much as the thought of having to choose between camp Half-blood and his roman sister, Hazel.

At that point, it hit me. The point of this test that Aphrodite's sons had forced upon us. View love from the others perspective. And this was Nico's perspective on love. This was how Nico viewed it all.

Love will kill him. Love will take it all from him in the end.

And in the end, Nico knew he would give love all he had.

The memories stopped. The sounds ceased and the sadness, anguish, and anger faded from me light a light. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was floating in a blank space and immediately say Nico floating nearby. Still unconscious. I willed my body to float over to him and I grasped his hand tightly. Swearing to be here for him when he woke up.

 **Please rate and review. Hoping to get some cover art for this! Do i have any artist readers? I would be willing to exchange some writing for some art.**

 **What did you think? Next update: Will's perspective of love**

 **~Hal**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am literally about to fall asleep at my computer. Finals week is brutal af.**

 **Nico's pov**

The light was almost too bright. I found that I lacked a physical body to shield myself from the white light as it burned my eyes. Much like I part and particle of darkness when shadow traveling, it felt like I was one with the light. Like I was riding the rays of the sun instead of the night. It felt different but just as natural as jumping into the nearest shadow for a quick escape.

Suddenly the light faded and a scene took it's place. The light faded into a dull sunset that cast dancing colors off of the ocean's surface. A small house boat sailed along in the waves and I found myself standing aboard it. On the small, modest boat was an entry way that lead into the bottom living area of the boat, a captain's hut, a clothes line, and a few lawn chairs. I scanned the boat and located a small boy and two adults sitting on the edge watching the sunset.

The young women was hardly twenty years old and had dark brown hair that was piled high on her head in a large bun. She had strong, swooping features that reminded me of Will. The man was instantly recognizable. Even in this vision I knew it was Apollo. Apollo had been one of the first Gods I had ever come in contact with. It was hard to forget a face like that.

Sitting between the young couple was a small blonde haired boy. I knew that he must be Will. He had the same shade of ocean blue eyes and tight curly hair. He sat innocently with the tips of his toes barely grazing the water. He snuggled into his mother's back as his mother leaned into Apollo. The small happy family watching the sunset on the ocean together.

"Never leave us." I heard Will's mother say right before the memory dissolved only as another took it's place.

It was a house, I knew that much. But shattered glass loitered the floor, and the only light that illuminated it's contents were the straw beams of sunlight that strayed in through the torn curtains. Will's mother was collapsed on the floor, her back arched as she breathed heavily. Her finger nails were dug into the hard oak floor as she starred at the open front door.

"Mommy?" A small voice asked. Will's mother and I both looked toward Will at the same time. He looked a little older in this memory but not by much.

"Mommy, where is Daddy?" Small Will clutched a teddy bear to his chest. Will's mother looked at her son. Her breath still coming in panting gasps and her eyes wide with strangled emotion.

" _You_." She said picking herself up off the floor. I felt a surge of protectiveness swell from within me and I stepped in front of the memory of Will's mother as she stalked toward her son like prey. She only walked right through me like mist and on toward Will.

"If you wouldn't have been born he wouldn't have had to leave!" She yelled. Tears weld in Will's eyes as his mother ripped Will's teddy bear out of his small hands and tore it apart in one loud rip. Nico's heart squeezed at the look of sadness on his face.

"Mommy." Will whimpered as he tried to embrace his mother. She pushed him off roughly and the small boy fell to the floor with a thud.

"I don't wan't to look at you. I wish you had left instead of him." I felt tears spill over my own eyes as the memory faded out and like clockwork, a new one took it's place. It began to come together like pieces of a puzzle. What I was seeing and experiencing. All major moments in Will's life that associates with love.

Will's personal definition of love.

A ten year old Will stood in front of me. But I was simply standing in front of the room that he meant to barge into. Which happened to be a living room filled with smoke and the stench of beer. A cigarette was partly put out in an ash tray, but a thin whips of smoke still emerged from it. Filling the room and clouding up the sunlight which acted as a filter. Illuminating the dust, smoke, and sadness.

"Mom." Will mumbled.

He looked almost ten years old. His hair was unruly, his appearance thin, and lanky. But he still sported is signature mop of curly blonde tresses and startling blue eyes. Will stepped into the room where his mother was passed out on the couch, a empty can of beer clutched in her hand.

Will stepped forward and put out the cigarette for good, and began clearing the cans of beer into a nearby trash bin. I watched him clean for a bit and noticed a bright gold envelope discarded upon the coffee table. As if linked even in the past, Will's eyes strayed to it as well. Gently, as to not wake his mother, Will set down the cans and picked up the letter like it was a million dollars and carefully inspected it. His eyes widened as he noticed his name written in shiny, silvery letters on the front of it.

Will read the letter quickly and just in time because his mother began to stir at the feeling of another presence in the room. She opened her eyes. They no longer held emotions of joy or love. Her long, chocolate brown hair had grown dry and thin. Her once strong, swooping features had sunk in upon themselves like wet clay.

"What are you reading, boy?" She mumbled pulling herself up. Will hardly regarded her.

"Dad wrote to me." Will mumbled in amazement. Will's mother clutched her head in pain and gave a short sarcastic laugh.

"He's been writing for years! But never to me! Always insisting on sending you to some damn camp." she growled reaching for a can of beer beside her couch and opening it with a flick of her hand. Grace preserved through transformation.

"Am I going?" Will asked. Will's mother's face began to grow cold and hard. She studied Will's features. Her eyes lingering on his golden hair and ocean eyes. I knew what she was thinking. She couldn't stand the resemblance. How much Will looked like his father. She sneered and took another swig of the beer.

"You could find yourself in a prison camp and I wouldn't be able to give a shit. Honestly, some mythical freak and a fag? It's probably where you belong." she muttered. Will hardly flinched. He had grown used to her comments. Will looked at his mother as if deciding something. His eyes held sympathy as if he remembered the lively woman she used to be. I thought for a moment he was going to say something. Offer some sort of parting words to his mom. But he only tucked the letter into his bag and left the room.

I hate this woman. I knew that if I ever crossed her path in real life there was a little chance I could hold back. The image of Will's eyes full of so much heart break destroyed me. Even when that heartbreak wasn't directed at me. I'm sure I have said my share of hurtful things to him.

As I pondered this, I watched Will's life like a television screen. I watched him get found wondering the streets by an on-duty satyr and led back to camp. He was claimed immediately but his eyes and hair matched all of the Apollo cabin so it was a bit hard to hide it. I could feel the emotion he felt when he began to learn to heal at the infirmary. Will found out he had a gift for healing and I knew what he was thinking as soon as he discovered it.

 _Maybe I could have helped her somehow._

I wanted to reach out to him and say, _'It's not your fault, Will. Some people can't be helped.'_ but I was only a ghost in this memory.

Will studied under Micheal and suffered when he died. I watched as Chiron approached him with being the new Apollo cabin counselor when he died after the war. Will refused in an anger filled rage.

 _"No, that's Micheal's job. It's not mine. Don't talk to me like I'm him!"_

I heard Apollo's voice whisk by me as he spoke to his son for the first time in ten years.

 _"Darkness consumed your mother. There was nothing left for you there but heartache. You're at home here, Son."_

I saw the first day Will met me. I was uncooperative. Stubborn, gloomy, and rude. It broke my heart to understand the real reason Will decided to talk to me. Not out of genuine interest. But because I reminded him of his mother. Something he could fix to atone for abandoning her there.

I cringed as I heard the words I spoke to Will that day after the war.

 _"Maybe you should have tried harder."_

My own voice echoed around me in a cold tone.

I shook my head. I didn't mean it. Micheal wasn't Will's fault. None of it was. I want to take it back. I want to apologize.

 ** _I want to see Will._**

"Nico!" I woke up to somebody shaking my shoulders. Will stood over me. "Nico wake up!"

"Will?" I asked. My mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and my head throbbed painfully. _What happened?_ I knew what happened. Will's past. I looked at the Will above me today. Fifteen years old. Tall. Handsome. Strong. He had come so far from where he started. And on top of all his terrible luck he was stuck with me. He didn't deserve that. If we get out of this, I want Aphrodite to give him freedom. Freedom to love who he wants to love. Even if it broke my heart in the process.

 ** _You did it all out of love didn't you? All that suffering was for love._**

I looked around the room, only to notice that the bastard love God's that held us captive were collapsed on the floor.

"What did you do?" I asked as Will struggled with my bonds. Will smirked.

"Sonic whistle. Good thing they had bat ears. They were out like a light the second I got a hand free." My bonds came loose and I sat up in the bed, careful not to step on anything as Will led me out of the darkened room and into the lightened hallway.

We didn't waste much time. Will and I found the closest exit and barged out into the outside world. I had never been so happy to see so many people. The streets were alive with mortals. Coffee shops were carpet bombed down the streets and people were holding hands all around us.

"Where are we?" I asked. Will regarded the streets with a tight face of recognition. He brow furrowed in an emotion that I couldn't identify.

"San Francisco." Will threw a parting glance at the building we emerged from. Which looked like a shady love hotel with the words "A La In Amore." in sketchy neon signs.

"We should go before they wake up." Will mumbled as he pulled me down the street. After a few blocks we decided we were far away enough to get some food. We had limited mortal money, but enough to feed us for a week or so.

Will purchased some food from a street vender while I waited against a building. When he came back, he handed me a large hot dog with everything from mustard to onions on it. I wrinkled my nose but took a bite out of hunger. I was pleasantly surprised to find it had cheese in the middle.

"We need to find a library." I mumbled with a mouth full of food. "Find out where this tree is located."

Will looked up from the ground as if being shaken out of a vision. He though for a second and dug around in his pocket before pulling out a gold drachma.

"I have a better idea." I declared.

Will's friend, Lou Ellen peered at us from the mist in the water fountain. Will called her as soon as he had finished our food.

"It says here that Aphrodite's tree is located on top of Kamakou." Lou Ellen answered, her faced bow buried in a book. She reminded me of a goth version of Annabeth.

"Great." I mumbled. "So all we have to do is climb a volcano." Will shot me a look that said, _you are not helping,_ and turned back to his friend.

"Are you sure there isn't one a little closer to the main land? Maybe in California?" Lou Ellen shook her head.

"The tree is native to Hawaii. And the only Olympic protected one in the region is on that volcano." Lou Ellen shrugged. "I wish there was more I could do." Will sighed in defeat.

"It's okay. You helped a bunch. Thanks, Lou." Will offered her a tired smirk and waved his hand through the mist before turning to me with a tired look on his face.

"Let's go find somewhere to sleep for the night." Will said. I didn't argue as I followed him through the streets of the sprawling city.

 **How did they get to California? Who knows. Plot holes. (Pretend the pig bat gods transported them to their love nest which is located in San Francisco.)**

 **Please review and inflate my ego.**

 **~Hal**


	7. Chapter 7

**Long chapter for late update! If you're not sure, i was late updating because I was doing a fan fiction for a friend in exchange for some cover art for this story!**

 **AND IT'S ADORABLE**

 **Everybody go thank boxidot . tumblr . com for doing our cover art.**

* * *

 **Will's POV**

I couldn't think straight. Not with Nico standing so close to me. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye as we walked down the busy streets of San Francisco. Thoughts raced through my mind a mile a minute. I had seen Nico's past. From his early childhood to now. I had felt all of his pain, and experienced it first hand. And in return, any anger I had harvested for him melted away like butter. But there was one question that kept bothering me.

Had Nico also seen my past? Had he seen the way Apollo left because of me. How I had caused my mother to break down to the core and simply left her there the first chance I got? Did he hate me now for not doing what I could to save my mother? I could see the look of disappointment in his eyes as he realized that I couldn't do anything. My own weakness overwhelmed me.

"Something wrong, Solace?" Nico's voice sounded loudly behind me. I jumped a bit, caught in the act of my sulking and turned around.

"Nothing's wrong. Unless you count our lack of a place to sleep." I pointed out, walking backwards for a moment so I could get my point across.

"We could find another hotel. But we should be more careful this time." Nico declared and I rolled my eyes. As if the last time we waltzed into the first hotel we could find and announced, ' _Hello monsters! Two delicious demigods have arrived for your tasting pleasure!'_

I didn't say that. Not that I wasn't all for getting Nico worked up, but we had things we needed to go over. Information to piece together. We hadn't gotten a breathing break since we started on this quest. We hadn't even had the chance to go over the prophecy.

I scanned the streets of downtown San Francisco, trying to recall the memories I had of growing up in the city. After a few blocks, things began to look familiar.

"I know a place." I announced as I gestured for Nico to follow me down an old street off of the main stretch.

* * *

"This is sketchy." Nico announced as we waited for the man behind six inches of bulletproof glass to check his room available. The man seemed to be trapped in a small room filled with smoke. Courtesy of the cigar hanging out of his mouth. I thought it was perfect. Such a sketchy motel would surely mask our demigod smell.

I leaned forward to address the overweight, bald man behind the glass.

"Excuse me, sir. But if you have a double room available we would appreciate it." The man snorted and a bit of the smoky air was sucked back into his lungs.

"We only have a single left." He croaked out. I doubted people were falling over themselves to get rooms at this motel to where they only had a single left. This man probably only told us that to mess with us. Nico sighed beside me.

"Well this might as well happen." He muttered. I shot Nico a glare and slid the man sixty dollars. It was the last of our mortal money considering we couldn't pay with the camp's credit card. There was a piece of paper written in black marker that read, "NO CHECKS OR CREDIT. CASH ONLY."

We would have gone to a nicer place but if it got any more hygienic than this dump, the smallest monster would have been able smelled Nico from a mile away. Traveling with a son of the Big Three wasn't always easy.

"I'm sorry did you have a better place? Should we go sleep under the bridge?" I asked sarcastically. Nico rolled his eyes and sent me a glare. He must have understood why I choose this place because he didn't argue with me. He inspected me for a moment before turning around in a huff, fiddling with our red chain. The man slid me a solid white room card and bid us good night or, 'whatever we freaky teenagers do past eight'.

The room was scary. We had one flickering light in the middle of the room, and the bathroom didn't even have a door. There was one double sized bed in the middle of the room with stiff blankets and two flat pillows. The carpet was late seventies shag, and I was afraid to discover what may be hiding in it. Nico seemed less upset about the room and pulled the wobbly old table out from the corner of the room began to empty the contents of his backpack onto it.

I walked up to help him sort the paper, our prophecy scroll, and the information that Lou Ellen had supplied us with.

"We need to go over the prophecy." Nico demanded. For once I agreed with him. After all the weird stuff that has happened, I was ready to finally focus on the quest. Nico looked up at me, studied my expression before turning away. That was the second time he had done what since even entering the hotel.

"Anyway, It starts with, "Two souls bound through time. One in darkness, one in light."

"Well that's easy. You're from the 1930's right?" Nico quickly glanced up at me and I realized what he was thinking. He had the same worries I did. Had I seen his past like he had seen mine? Well I guess we both had our answers.

"Yeah." Nico answered cautiously. I didn't try and comfort him. Maybe because we both didn't want to acknowledge that we knew each other stories. It would be too sad to relive.

"So I must be light?"

"You're assuming that I am the darkness?"

"You're pretty dark. I'm just being literal here."

Nico scowled.

"Moving on. The next verse is, 'One prevailed lost in despair."

I thought to myself as Nico read the next verse. Nico shifted from side to side anxiously.

"That...That could be me." Nico muttered. I was about to ask what he meant when flashes of memories that weren't mine raced through my mind. Tartarus. Nico had survived alone in Tartarus. If ever there was a place that was the personification of despair it would be Tartarus.

Nico's eyes glassed over with similar memories and before I could help it I reached across the table and placed my hand on top of his. He looked up at me, his eyes wide but innocent.

I gave him a comforting smile and the thin chain connecting us pulsed loudly. If Nico noticed it, he didn't show any signs. I withdrew my hand slowly and turned back to the scroll.

"What about the next line? 'Both will fall lost in fair.'." I asked trying to steer the atmosphere back to one of learning.

"I have no idea." Nico admitted.

"Helpful." Nico glared at me and moved onto the next verse.

"'Skies are falling, hide below. Hands are bleeding, don't let go.'"

"This could be referring to something bigger." Nico observed.

"Like an apocalypse?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Usually these things don't make sense until they happen." Nico observed tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully. I almost laughed at his silly gesture but he continued reading.

"'With final breath, a final wish. With first love, a final kiss.'" And thus, Nico spoke the last line of our cryptic prophecy.

"That sounds strangely romantic." I observed. Nico flushed and turned away instantly. Red creeping up his pale skin.

"Don't go getting any ideas, Solace." He stuttered out awkwardly.

"Don't jump to conclusions, di Angelo." I retorted offhandedly. This new banter between us was different. Before, it was solely out of me not being able to stand his guts. This time it was different. It wasn't confrontational, but good natured. This Nico isn't the same Nico I knew at camp. Or maybe it was, and I was too blind to see how adorable he was when he got worked up. Or how endearing his snarky attitude was. Or maybe it was the way his dark hair framed his soft face. Before, I had a glare that could challenge his to the universe and back. Now we couldn't even look one another in the eyes without getting flustered.

"We need transportation across the sea." Nico said collecting himself, and our information.

"So, we should as Poseidon?"

"He's not likely to favor me if he knows I'm traveling via sea." Nico deadpanned and I nodded grimly. The Big three did not like their nieces and nephews.

"So who should we ask than. We don't have money to hire a boat. Unless they take Olympus Platinum." Olympus platinum is only accepted at accredited Olympus places of business. Olympus Platinum. The smart way to shop.

"You said this was Western America right?" Nico asked while inspecting a flyer that had been left on our night table by the cleaning staff. It was highlighting a local event happening tonight.

"Yeah. San Francisco."

Nico smiled a secretive smile. _What was he up to…_ I wondered. Nico folded up the flyer and turned to me.

"I know a guy."

* * *

"Why in Zeus's name would the patron God of Sailors be here?" I asked. Nico shrugged from beside me. His hand resting leisurely on his sword.

"He likes a good festival."

It was a fair. A classic, downtown, late Autumn fair. Pumpkins decorated streets while people danced in brightly colored costumes. Various food stalls were carpet bombed against the washed streets and loud music poured out of small concert venues down the block. All around us, couples held hands and laughed happily. All seemed to be enjoying the perfect date night.

"We don't blend in very well…" Nico observed. He was right. He looked like we had just stumbled out of a human meat grinder. I inspected the stalls around us and located one that sold various festive costumes loitered with beads and feathers.

"We can get some of those." I said pointing it out for Nico to see. I watched as his face curled in disgust. Sure, the bright colors would contrast with his usual preference of darkness, but he would get over it.

Once Nico gave in after ten minutes of arguing that he could keep his jeans he stepped out of the changing room. Nico had picked out a white sweatshirt with small sugar skulls loitering it. While he was changing I figured out that this was a local festival celebrating Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Nico's sweatshirt was adorable and across the top the words, DIA DE LOS MUERTOS were printed in bold, black lettering. I was glad he chose a sweatshirt, because I was getting worried about how cold it would get in the early November months.

As for me, I chose a long sleeved, sweater that had that was gray with a large minimalist sugar skull on the front. I thought the design was beautiful and luckily the stall was endorsed by Olympus.

As we walked down the streets of the festival Nico ate a few chocolate candies as he instructed me of who exactly we were looking for.

"We are looking for Brizo. Patron God of Sailors. He will most likely be surrounded by Oceanides. Ocean nymphes." Nico exclaimed. I reached out for one of his candies and he promptly swatted my hand away. I pouted for a bit before he rolled his eyes and handed me a small, chocolate skull.

After almost two hours of looking for Brizo, and getting a bit sidetracked by all of the amazing attractions, the sun had begun to set and we still hadn't located the Patron God of Sailors. My legs were beginning to get sore and the temperatures were dropping. And I was positive neither Nico or myself knew where we were. Nico didn't seem to mind as he nuzzled into his sweater and I became envious. Of Nico or the sweater, I may never know.

"Should we give up?" I asked as the night lights began to turn around. Highlighting the festivities. I looked around trying to locate a familiar building. Nico sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Maybe." He admitted. "I mean. I can always ask Percy." I froze at the mention of Percy Jackson. He was Nico's first love. For some reason the idea of Nico _Iris messaging_ Percy Jackson while me, _his soulmate,_ stood by and twiddled my thumbs was irritating.

I didn't think so.

Before I could think of a clever reason of why we should most definitely **NOT** call Percy Jackson, a bright spotlight was pointed directly at us. I mean, I don't know about anybody else, but the universal presence of blinding lights was beginning to annoy me. Nico blinked at the spotlight, and I looked around for an explanation. Were we being attacked again?

I reached into my back pocket for my celestial dagger and collapsible bow when a man began talking into a microphone.

Said man stood upon a stage holding said microphone and was dramatically gesturing to us.

"It seems we have two volunteers for the Danza de los amantes!" I looked toward Nico for a translation.

"Dance of Lovers." He whispered to me and I paled. Nico gathered up his energy, and shouted.

"What we did **NOT** volunteer!"

A loud laughter emanated from the crowd and the man on stage.

"Nobody volunteers for love!" He retorted. I was about to point out that he said we just did when he raised a hand to us in a come hither motion. Suddenly, an unseen breeze pushed us both from behind and Nico and I both stumbled into a man-made circle of people. The spotlight followed as and we regained our balance at the foot of the stage. The crowd around us cheered as we flashed a nervous smile toward them.

"I'm surprised they aren't booing at two males dancing." Nico muttered to me.

"It's San Francisco." I muttered back.

The man who had called us out sat now upon a large chair on stage surrounded by a handful of women who sat around him. They were clad in what looked like flight attendant uniforms with small sugar skulls decorating them.

"Now!" Declared the man. "Dance!"

I couldn't control it. It was like an instantaneous reaction. Like the kind you get when you flinch if somebody is about to hit you. I grabbed a hold of Nico's waist gently as music began to pour out of the speakers around us and the crowd began to cheer.

Nico looked at me with alarmed eyes at his own uncontrollable actions.

"What do we do?" I heard him shout over the music.

"Dance, I guess!" I answered. If we couldn't control our actions it was most likely the work of a God or Goddess. And the only way to get them to stop is to give them what they want. I wouldn't be surprised if Aphrodite was behind this.

Nico nodded and tried to follow my lead in dancing and sheepishly apologized as he stepped on my feet.

When he wasn't looking down at his feet to get a good rhythm, he looked at me with a large smile. The upbeat music seemed to lift his moods in the same way it lifted mine.

Nico's smile, his genuine smile, was as rare as a child of the Big Three. It was wide, and happy, and all consuming. He looked at me with big, brown eyes and he looked like just an average guy. Not a stuck up prick, not Mr. Doom-and-Gloom. But as Nico di Angelo. Italian. Adorable. Handsome. I watched as we spun around in time with the music, and how his poofy bat wing hair fell around his face when he gave a chance for gravity to act upon it.

It was cumulative.

It was universal.

His smile.

His bubble of laughter.

His eyes under the night lights.

My feelings.

I'm in love with him.

The music stopped along with my train of thought. In love? With Nico di Angelo? I watched as our bodies stilled, both panting in unison from exhaustion, but ever present smiles on both of our faces. Yes. I was in love with my Soulmate. Nico di Angelo.

Before I could start putting our last names together like a lovesick ten year old, the man on stage jumped clapping along with the audience.

"Bravo! Lovely dance!" He exclaimed shaking Nico's hand. Nico tore his gaze from me, and mine from him as we turned to the man who had forced us to dance.

"Now if you two lovebirds are done, I'm almost positive you wanted to speak with me." He declared. The women in flight attendant uniforms walked behind him as he gestured for us to follow him to his trailer that was behind the stage.

Nico shot me a glance. His face still red, and still slightly out of breath from the dancing.

"Guess we found Brizo." Nico said. I smiled. At least we wouldn't have to call Percy Jackson. Nico and I followed Brizo and his gaggle of Ocean Nymphs. I became aware that we still hadn't let go of each others hand.

* * *

 **What do you think? Please let me know and leave a review!**

 **I can proudly say I know how the rest of the story is going to turn out.**

 **I have a script. Hehe.**

 **~Hal**

 **Tumblr- Halwrites . tumblr . com**


	8. Chapter 8

**NICO'S POV**

* * *

Will and I followed Brizo through the large crowd who had moved onto another song and had long forgotten Will and I's performance. Brizo let us up to a small, tin-can like trailer that was parked directly behind the stage where the concert was being held. On the front door, he had a bright yellow star that read, 'BRIZO' in all capital letters.

Will shot me a suspicious glance and I gave a weary smile to reassure him. It didn't seem to work as Will's eyebrows furrowed together in suspicion as we climbed the stairs together.

"You sure you know this guy?" Will whispered as Brizo drunkenly fiddled with his keys at the front door.

I wasn't sure. The Brizo that I had met during my days in the labyrinth was a bit more… risque than this one. Gods change form on a whim, but the man I had met was a fallen warrior. A soldier wanting nothing more than to reclaim his honor. This mess of a man was like a drunken, wannabe celebrity.

"Ah-ha!" Brizo explained as the only large, bronze key fit into the small lock on the door. After he fiddled and cursed with it a bit, the door opened with a creak and I expected to be hit with the smell of polyester, booze, and cigarettes. Instead, the well lit interior revealed a mansion like room with spiraling marble pillars holding it up, a bar, a full sized bathroom, a Jacuzzi, a swimming pool, and a large puzzle couch that sat in a pit in the middle of the grand room.

"Woah." was the only thing that came out of my mouth. Brizo ushered us in quickly complaining about the cold, and I stumbled into the humongous room.

The ceiling was painted with amazing works of art of angels swooping from the heavens and patron saints reaching out to meet them. Brizo noticed me admiring it and stated,

"Ah yes. Michelangelo painted that for me himself. Fine man, he was." Brizo muttered and I rolled my eyes at his passive nature. Meanwhile, Will was about to fall over dead from taking in all of the beautiful architecture, and art.

"It's a Tardis." Will muttered to me.

"A what?" I muttered back. Will shot me a look of shock before shaking his head.

"Modern reference. I'll tell you later." I decided not to push it and took a cautious seat on the puzzle couch next to Will.

"Yes, yes! Take a seat. Can I get you boys anything? Brandy? Whiskey? Wine?"

"No thanks." Will answered dryly.

Brizo shrugged and poured himself a glass before sitting down next to us, sprawling his arms out across the back of the white leather couch.

"Now." he put his feet up. "What do two demigods want from me?" He asked.

Will sent me a look and I returned it before answering.

"We're trying to get to Hawaii." I answered trying to pry my eyes away from the vault ceiling artwork.

"Ah Hawaii. Good honeymoon spot." He muttered while taking a sip of his drink. I blushed a bit and Will jumped to our defence.

"No, no. It's on official Olympus business."

"Ah. No time for pleasure than." He shot back and gave me a wink. I shuddered in disgust.

"I suppose you want help…" Brizo mused.

"Yes."

Brizo nodded thoughtfully and gazed up at his handcrafted Michelangelo original as if it was a habit of his to do whenever he was deep in thought. Finally, Brizo was brought down from the realistic brushstrokes and turned back to us.

"Help comes for a price you know."

"Do you take cards?" Will asked. He pulled out our solid gold Olympus card and slid it across the crystal coffee table toward Brizo. He scowled and waved it away.

"I don't want your Olympian electronic money." He complained. Will put the card back into his wallet and scowled.

"Well what do you want?"

"A kiss."

I reeled back in further disgust. My lips curling up in repulsion.

"You want us to kiss you?" I yelled incredulously. Brizo's eyes widened and he shook his head swiftly with a loud laugh like a cowbell.

"Not me! Heavens if either of you kiss me, you'll kill each other. That red chord isn't for show. It's the real deal, boys." He reminded us with a stern tone and a shake of his finger. I looked down and studied our chord. It was it's usual crimson color, maybe a bit brighter than normal. Pulsing like a living, breathing thing.

"So who do you want to kiss?" Will asked. Brizo groaned and rolled his eyes.

"No, no. I want you to kiss each other. That red chord of yours emits magic when stimulated. It's very concentrated and powerful. I could conjure up a boat easily with it."

I shot a panicked glance at Will but he didn't meet his eyes. He fiddled with the cord around his wrist without making eye contact. I waited for Will to say something but he remained silent.

"In front of you?" I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Well I can turn around if it makes you feel any better."

It didn't.

Will glanced up from his hands and angled his body to face my own. His warm hand encased my own for the second time that night. He shuffled closer to me before checking to make sure Brizo was turned around.

"It's now that big of a deal." Will muttered.

"I guess not." But I knew my voice sounded shaky and uncertain.

"After all we are soulmates." I glanced up at Will. His blue eyes like steel, and his hair swept back over his ears. I wanted to reach up and run my hands through the thick locks. Just to see what they felt like. To know if they were as soft as I imagined them to be.

I nodded and Will leaned forward before I could compose myself. His lips were soft, but cracked around the edges due to our journey in late autumn. He tasted like the air after a storm and felt like the storm itself as I tightened my grip on his hand, I felt our chord pulse powerfully in response.

"More!" I head Brizo exclaim. "I need more magic, go on blonde boy! Kiss him!" I heard Will let out a soft growl which would have been the hottest thing I had ever heard until when his hand left mine and attached itself to my messy black hair and I was pulled closer.

Will took it upon himself to open his mouth and capture my lips in a deeper kiss. I felt the warmth of the inside of his mouth as we discarded the tight lipped peck and delved deeper. His hair tickled my eyelids gently, his nose angled to fit against my own, and I heard him take a deep breath and recapture my lips.

My hand flailed during all of this. I wasn't sure where to put them. Putting them on Will's hips would be awkward considering he is so much taller than me, and I would go for the winding them around his neck but he was so close to me I was afraid I would elbow him in the ribs.

Before I could react, Will pulled back. Our lips connected by their own chord of saliva and Will swiped it away quickly in embarrassment.

I watched Will with wide eyes before glancing at Brizo who was on his knees beside us collecting bright red sparks that jumped off of Will and I's soulmate chord quickly. The chord was bright red and seemed to be vibrating.

Once the bottle was full Brizo stood and examined the contents which had settled into a red dust.

"Soulmate magic. Very rare." Brizo announced as he placed the small vial into his coat pocket.

"I thought you needed that to make a boat for us!" I asked trying to keep my glaze away from Will and his now swollen lips.

"Consider it payment. I have a ship leaving for Hawaii at noon tomorrow at the western docs. Be there." He said cheerfully before taking his now empty glass of whiskey and refilling it in his bar. I jumped off the couch and stalked toward the minor god.

"Asshole." I hissed and Will grabbed my hand. My mind short circuited and I blinked, glancing from Brizo back to Will. Will also looked somewhat upset at the stunt that the sailor God had pulled but motioned toward the door.

"Nico let' just go." Will muttered. I felt my anger deplete a bit before I nodded. I sent one last glare at the minor God before following Will out of the trailer which still looked like a small tin can from the outside.

* * *

The music had stopped, and the lights had turned off. I wondered for a moment how long Will and I had been in there. The only lights that were on now were the street lights and a few vendors that were still packing up from the festivities.

The streets were loitered with garbage from the crowd and Will and I picked around it on our way back to our motel room. The lack of people was eerie, mostly because their energy could still be felt in the night air. It felt like an invisible party was happening around us.

We walked in silence for a bit before Will cleared his throat.

"That… wasn't unpleasant." he said. I glanced up at him wondering what he was thinking. I reached down and let my hand wind through his gently.

"No." I muttered. I let myself drift closer to him as we walked along the empty street.

"So… What are we. Still enemies? Friends? Soulmates?" Will asked with a light blush on his face. I think for a second. How did I feel about Will? When I looked at him now, my stomach did flips and turns. I think about his hair, and his voice and his eyes, and our future. But I wanted us to form a relationship because we wanted it. Not because some Goddess deemed us each others boyfriend material.

"I like you." I confessed and then chuckled a bit at my own understatement. "But for now, lets just be Will and Nico." I muttered. Will shot me a glance before smiling but not dropping my hand. I wasn't sure if this was enough. I allowed myself to lay my head gently on his arm as we walked in silence.

* * *

Will opened the door and we stepped inside the dark, cold room. The room was the same as we left. Our quest information scattered on the table. The Day of the Dead flyer laying on the bedside table, and both of our backs sitting on our respective beds.

I glanced down and Will and I's intertwined hands and chuckled before unwinding myself and walking toward the my bed, only to be pulled back to Will forcefully.

"What the?" I asked. Will had the same question on his face as he examined our chord. The long, red chain which used to be at least six feet apart at all times, had shrunken to a short six inches.

"Why isn't it getting longer?" Will asked tugging at the chain lightly. I shook my head and looked up at him with worried eyes.

"What do we do?" I asked. Will sighed at ran his free hand through his blond hair in worry.

"We need to get some sleep." Will reasoned. "It's probably one of Aphrodite's tricks." That made sense to me and I helped Will push our two small beds together so we would be able to sleep comfortably.

I crawled under the blanket and Will and I positioned ourselves into the most comfortable position. We gazed at each other as we fell asleep, our hands tangled together in cheap blankets and red chains.

* * *

"These are the docks." Will said holding the map out for me to see.

"I didn't know you could read maps." I said.

"Yes, I'm very talented." Will responded and I snorted sarcastically only to be nudged by Will. Our hands were still bound together tightly and was easier and made more sense to just be holding hands all the time. This way, mortals didn't question why two guys stood so abnormally close together. Also, it was a great excuse to snuggled into Will during the cold morning. I made a mental note to sacrifice some of my next meal to Aphrodite.

The dock was gray and misty in the morning. The sluggish water bobbed the few boats in the harbor in a hypnotic motion, and the wood that made up the dock creaked suspiciously and the only sounds that could be heard were a few stray crows cawing overhead.

"Look!" I exclaimed. "There it is, Brizo's boat." I pointed to the far end of the harbor toward a small, white fishing boat called ' _Sea Mist'_ bobbing along the dock. Even from here, we could

Will smiled and I almost died on the spot. He walked forward, pulling me with him.

"Come on. Let's go talk to him." he said. Will and I walked down the dock toward _Sea Mist_ when we noticed that the person loading boxes was not Brizo, or even a man.

"Excuse me!" Will shouted while waving a hand high over his head. I rolled my eyes. "Do you sail this ship for Brizo?" Will explained. The figure jumped at our sudden appearance and turned around to greet us. She was older with graying dark brown hair, and steel blue eyes. Her face was small, and slightly wrinkled. Her small frame was clad in overalls, a long sleeved gray shirt, and mud boots and thick gloves.

Will's breath hitched and his hand tightened around mine.

"William?"

"Mom?"

* * *

 **So what did you guys think? Thoughts? Comments? Death threats?**

 **~Hal**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, hello, hello!**

 **My school's holiday break is coming up!**

 **That means two weeks of consistent updates due to boredom!**

 **I wanna thank you guys again for all the support this story has received. In these next few weeks, I will begin to bring the story to it's end.**

 **Very sad.**

 **HOWEVER**

 **It means the beginning of a NEW multi chapter.**

 **What would you guys like to see done?**

 **~Hal**

 **Will's pov**

"I don't know how I feel about this." Nico sneered from his place against the edge of the small ship as it cut through the waters bellow. I fidgeted beside him. Nico's current attitude and my own seemed reversed. I briefly wondered if I was supposed to be the one upset, and angry. I remembered seeing Nico's past through a potion induced coma, and wondered how much of my own past Nico had seen.

The way he was glaring at my mother as she worked stiffly made me not have to wonder for long.

I watched my mother as she coiled rope, adjusted engine speeds, and stacked cargo boxes. Every now and again I would catch her looking at me out of the corner of her eye and than go back to her work. It had been awkward when we saw each other.

 _"Will?" My mother asked, dropping the rope that she had held in her hand._

 _"Mom?" I muttered. Nico glanced between the two of us like a game of ping pong. His brow furrowed in confusion before he turned on the woman._

 _"Mom?" He asked. "Will's mother?" My mom, who's name was Anya, glanced at Nico as if noticing for the first time that he was there._

 _"Yes. That's my son." She muttered. Nico scuffed and looked like he was going to push her off the dock_

 _"You don't get to call Will your son. Not after what you put him through."_

 _"Nico, stop. It's okay." I muttered pulling him back to him by our short chain._

 _"No, it's not okay. We aren't traveling anywhere with this woman." Nico spat and I flinched. My mother, Anya, looked downcast at her scuffed mud boots and nodded._

 _"I understand. Will... I never... I never thought I'd see you again." Anya said reaching for me, but was stopped by Nico placing his small, yet lethal, body between me and her hand. Anya blinked up at Nico like she kept forgetting he was there, and her eyes glanced to our joined hands._

 _"Are you two...?" Anya asked, her eyes transfixed on our hands._

 _"None of your business." Nico deadpanned. I sighed and pulled Nico toward me, my thumb rubbing comforting circles on his own. Nico relaxed a bit but maintained his inhospitable facade._

 _"Look. Mo-Anya." My mothers face seemed to darken a bit at my use of her first name."Brizo sent us. He said you can take us to Hawaii." I explained, trying to remain composed but my mind was working a mile a minute. What was she doing here? Was she working for Brizo? It had been almost six years since I had seen my mother. Had she changed?_

 _"Right." My mom nodded and motioned to the front of the ship. "You guys can hop on. I'm about to set off."_

Nico's hand was becoming hot and clammy due to his frustration so I let go of it. Our hands hung limply beside one another, connected by our continually shortening chain. After a bit more muttering on my part, Anya walked up to us, wiping her hands on her work overalls.

"I can show you guys to your room if you like." She said. My mom's hair was the same dark oak color I remembered it being. It hung in curls down her face where she wasn't successful in capturing it into a bun at the top of her head. The only difference now and the day I had left her was a few stray gray streaks in her hair, and some trace wrinkles under her eyes. She was older, calmer, and her eyes didn't hold the same fiery pain than the ones I remember so well.

Nico nodded and I felt myself being pulled across the boat deck toward a small cabin that led into the living quarters of the boat. A small narrow staircase took us down into my mothers home. There were no pictures on the wall, no personalized objects that would tell you anything about the person who lived here.

There was a small kitchen, a table and a television set that was built into the wall of the boat to avoid falling over in rough seas.

Anya led us to a small room next to her own and opened it up.

"I only have one spare room." her eyes flicked to our joined hands, "But...I thought maybe you wouldn't mind." Nico scowled and pushed past her, pulling me into the room.

"Please give us a moment." Nico ground out to my mom before shutting the door and turning on me.

"What's wrong with you?" Nico whispered angrily. My eyes widened and I held my hands up defensively.

"Me? What? Because I'm not ready to rip the woman's head clean off her shoulders? You need to calm down, Nico!"

"Me? Calm down? Do you even remember the way she treated you?"

"Yes. I was the one actually there! Remember?"

"Well you didn't..." Nico's face began turning a bright shade of red and he turned away.

"I didn't what?" I provoked.

"Nothing."

"I didn't what?" Nico glanced at me. His eyes watching me from under his thick lashes.

"See it... from the point of view of... somebody who cared about you." Nico muttered. I felt my heart skip a beat or two. I smiled, and let our fingers weave together.

"Well... We are soulmates." Nico glanced down and smiled at our hands. I remembered our first day on the quest together, how repulsed I was at the idea of being in an intimate relationship with Nico. Now, all I wanted to do was get the quest done and go back to camp so I might be able to properly court him.

"Nico and Will." Nico muttered, repeating my answer from last night.

"Will and Nico." I corrected. Nico smirked and punched me lightly in the arm before letting his head drop onto my chest. I wrapped my free arm around him the best I could and rested my chin on his fluffy, black hair.

We stayed like that for a few moments before a hesitant knock on the door interrupted us. I reached over and opened it to reveal Anya, who was holding a tray of tea hesitantly.

"Will..." She said as she opened the door. "I was hoping that we could talk." I looked at Nico, who shrugged in response and busied himself with his fingernails.

"Yes. You can talk to _us_." I declared. Anya looked from me to Nico and nodded dejectedly. We followed her out into the sitting area where she placed the hot tea on the table in front of the couch and took a seat. Nico and I sat in the love seat across from her.

"Will." She began before taking a dead breath. "I acknowledge that I was an emotionally absent and abusive parent. And I'm sorry. I'm not even going to make excuses. You were my son. My child. And I wasn't there for you when you needed me. Thankfully, you found a home and a family at that camp. A family I couldn't give you."

Anya paused for a second. I felt my heart pound in my chest. I had always daydreamed about what it would be like the day I could confront my mother like this. To say what I had always wanted to say.

"I know I called you a lot of hatefully things. But I want you to know that whoever you choose to love, I accept and respect." Anya's eyes wander down to Nico and I's conjoined hands once more.

"I guess I just want you to know that I understand if you don't forgive me. And I understand if I'm not your mother in your eyes anymore. But anything you need... I'm here." Anya finished, tears pooling in her eyes.

I glanced at Nico and he watched me with eyes. I tried to read what he was thinking. His eyes seemed to tell me to respond to her. I had wanted to tell my mother for so long how much she had hurt me. And how she could go straight to Hades. But I had also felt remorse for leaving her all these years. She had been sick. She had been in mourning. But so had I.

"Anya." I began, drawing in a deep breath. Nico's hand tightened around my comfortingly. "You're right. You did hurt me. I remember being five years old and wondering why my mother didn't want me around. And that's a shitty thing to do to somebody. It took me a long time to forgive myself for leaving. And an even longer time to learn how to love myself, because nobody taught me how to as a child. Luckily, I had a cabin full of supportive brothers and sisters. And I'm doing good. I'm the head medic at camp. I am the counselor of my cabin. I have lots of friends. I have a soulmate." I gazed at Nico and he gave me a small smile.

"And I achieved all of that without you." I finished. I saw the hurt flash across her face. "But at the same time, I wouldn't be as strong as I am today without you. And as a doctor, it is my duty to lend others my strength. So I forgive you, Anya. And I'm willing to try and rebuild some kind of relationship." I said.

The words brought me power as I watched them come out of my mouth, and my mothers face light up as she stood from the couch.

"Do you really mean that? We could rebuild? I would love to show you some of the other boats I had learned to drive. None as nice as your father's though! We can go shopping for some things to make it more homely. And you can tell me all about camp, and your siblings, and I can give you love advice! Oh, and maybe next year, you can come visit me for Christmas-"

Nico put a stop to my mothers ranting quickly.

"Calm down, seabiscuit." Nico said. "Just get us to Hawaii for now." Anya took a deep breath and smiled at us.

"Right. Too much too fast. You two can go have some alone time. I'll make some food." Nico seemed to like that plan as he pulled me back to our room and shut the door behind us. He collapsed on the bed, pulling me down with him.

"That went well." I mentioned as I relaxed into the bed next to my soulmate. Nico scowled and rolled over, inspecting my face from the side.

"Hardly. Can you believe her? Spend Christmas together. Please" I laughed and rolled over as well, gazing into his dark brown eyes, and holding his hand happily.

"You just want me to spend Christmas with you." Nico scowled and hit me with a pillow.

"Don't be stupid." I laughed and grabbed a pillow to hit him back. I was confused. I didn't know what the future held with my mother being kind of sorta back in my life. But whatever it was, I was glad to be chained to the boy I would want beside me through all of it.

 **Sorry for short chapter. I'm sticking to my tumblr theme of the week.**

 **Emotional abuse is REAL abuse.**

 **~Hal**


	10. Chapter 10

**I WROTE THIS CHAPTER**

 **AND MY BROWSER CLOSED BEFORE I COULD FINISHED**

 **I'M SO FUCKING PISSED.**

 **Nico's pov**

"This is it." Will's mother announced as she docked the boat with skilled precision. I wanted to get off this boat more than anything in my life. Will's newly restored relationship with his mother was taxing on my health. I wanted to grab Will and drag him as far away from the woman as I could. Instead, I watched from the dock as Will's mother handed him our only two bags.

"Thanks mom." Will responded. The woman smiled at him and petted his golden curls down on his head. I felt briefly jealous. She hadn't earned the right to touch Will. Hell, I hadn't even ran my hands through Will's hair yet. It looked so soft, and fluffy I was saving the experience. In my eyes, she wasn't somebody who deserved a second chance with Will. She was still just the woman who blamed her small child for all of her wrong doings.

Will waved goodbye and together we walked down the dock. I heard her shout a goodbye to me as well and I gave a half-hearted wave over my shoulder and tried to hide my scowl.

I heard Will chuckle from beside me as he linked together our chained hands and smiled at me. I felt heat rise to my face as I looked away.

"Hopefully you will get used her." I huffed at his request in anger.

"I'll get used to her the day you spend some quality time with my father." Will paled immediately at the idea of spending time with my father. I smirked and he seemed to get the idea as we continued to walk down the dock and into the town.

"So where are we going to find this tree?" I asked as I bit into my lunch.

We had stopped at a local street vendor and ordered two sandwiches of smoked pork wrapped in dense bread. Will insisted we sit down at a bench and unravel our maps and other quest information. Will had immediately identified the sandwiches as a local specialty and named them something I could hardly even remember let alone pronounce. Instead, I took a large bite of my sandwich and tried not to drop any sauce onto our map. It was so good, I briefly considered going back to the vendor buying more for the road.

"Ask the locals I suppose." Will answered as he took a small bite of his sandwich and immediately wiped his mouth the one of the many napkins he had taken from the vendor. I flushed when I remembered how I had simply taken a huge bite of my sandwich, completely forgetting my manors. Will must have thought it was incredibly gross.

I felt myself grow self conscious as I began wiping my face with my sleeve.

Will chuckled and handed me one of his napkins, which I accepted. My face was still red from embarrassment.

"It's not a big island. If there is a godly tree anywhere around here, the locals are sure to have a story about it. We could probably ask anybody." Will pointed out. I nodded and sat back on the bench. We had been so wrapped up in the hunt for a tree that I never stopped to appreciate all the amazing places we had been to.

San Francisco was amazing, and the festival was even more so. I remembered how Will and I had danced as if propelled by the wind itself.

I remembered our kiss... However, it didn't really feel like our kiss since we had been forced to do it. I glanced at Will from the corner of my eye. Wondering if he wanted to kiss me of his own free will... I wondered how it would be different when we went back to camp.

Will caught me starring and smirked before intertwining our hands once more and laying his head on my shoulder.

"It's beautiful." Will said nodding out toward the ocean that surrounded the island.

"If you think this is beautiful, you should see Venice." I mumbled. I felt Will shift as he lifted his head at starred at me.

"I'd like too." He said. I blinked and glanced down at him. His face illuminated by the high noon sun.

"You'd like too what?"

"Go to Venice."

"With me?"

"Who else would I go with?"

I smiled and nodded before standing up to throw away our food garbage and bringing Will with me.

"It's a date than I guess." I declared and Will laughed.

"An old Myrtle tree?" The man at the bar asked. I nodded and he reached for a wet glass and started drying it absentmindedly. Will shot me a glance as he sipped on his virgin daiquiri. It made him look just like a tourist with his tan skin, blonde hair, and khaki shorts.

"Are you talking about the ghost tree up on the volcano?" the man finally responded, his Hawaiian accent was thick and powerful like a tall tree.

"Is it the only Myrtle tree on the island?" Will asked. The man chuckled.

"It's the only unique Myrtle tree on this island. But it's at the edge of the haunted forest. People who've seen it say there is a ghost that lives in the tree."

Will and I shot each other a glance at the same time, both of us thinking the same thing. It had to be the tree. Too many things connected it to our quest.

"Can you show us the way to the forest?" I asked, suddenly very excited. This was a small island. I could go up there, banish the ghost possessing the tree, cut it down and Will and I can be headed back to camp by dusk. I had never felt such a urge to return to Camp Half-Blood.

The man shook his head and reached for another glass.

"No can do, small fry." I felt a surge of anger at the size jab. "The forest is haunted. It has a bad vibe. My business is new and I don't want to be on the gods bad side." I wanted to groan. Why would Aphrodite make it so hard to get this damn tree? Why couldn't she just swoop down here and cut it down herself? Part of me knew that there were rules that even the Gods have to follow. And if one of those rules are that only true soulmates can cut down a Godly Myrtle tree than even Aphrodite herself has to follow that.

"Do you have a map? I can circle where the tree is though and draw you a path." Will nodded and reached into my pack and pulled out our map. The man looked at it and his brow furrowed. Will had written several side notes in ancient Greek on the side. Considering we were both dyslexic, it was the only thing we could easily read and keep a large part of the general population from learning of our quest.

However, the mist could make the map notes unreadable anyway.

The man ignored our notes and took out a red marker as he drew a line from his little bar, through town, and up the mountain side, and into a forest. He stopped at a small clearing and drew a large circle around it.

"The tree is in that clearing. You can't miss it. It is old and wise." He declared and Will thanked him before sliding a five dollar bill for his drink and another ten for his services.

He accepted both and bid us good luck on whatever two teenage boys wanted with an old myrtle tree.

"We've been walking for years." Will complained. I rolled my eyes and pulled him up a tall rock with me. It was especially difficult navigating the forest when we were both bound together so closely.

"Try three hours. And we are getting close." I said. In my peripheral vision, spirits fluttered in and out of sight. Whoever named this forest the haunted forest knew their stuff. This place was a breeding ground for spiritual activity. Metaphorically of course.

A rabbit nearby stepped on a twig and Will jumped into my arms.

"They're right aren't they?" He asked in a trembling voice. "This is a haunted forest."

I laughed and led him further up the volcano.

"Oh yes. This place is riddled with ghosts." Will whimpered. "But they won't hurt us. You're safe with me?"

Will stopped, smirked and placed his hands on my waist. I blushed brightly at his sudden bold action. I couldn't imagine the Will Solace from a week ago showing my such sudden physical affection.

"I'm safe with you am I?" He muttered. I blushed and nodded. My eyes looking anywhere but his face. The image of my protecting Will was a favorable one.

"Do you wanna go on a date with me after this?" Will asked. He smooth demeanor suddenly gone, and instead he was blushing wildly. "I mean... We are in Hawaii... We could not get it go to waste." My face was as red as his but I laughed.

"We are literally soulmates and you're embarrassed about asking me on a date." I stated.

"Well you're embarrassed about saying yes to a date!" I could practically feel steam coming out of my ears.

"I am not! I'm embarrassed for you! Because you asked me in such a lame way."

"It was not lame! I'm sorry I forgot my tuxedo and a dozen red roses!" Will shot back as he let go on my waist and crossed his arms in a huff. There was the old Will. I felt annoyance and a surge of affection rise up within me.

I loved the way his nose wrinkled when he was upset, and the way he would cross his arms in a childish huff. I had probably always loved it.

I opened my mouth to say something when a sudden light interrupted me.

The light was from a clearing ahead of us. Bright, and open to the sky above Hawaii.

"Will... We're here." Will opened his eyes and looked out toward the clearing. I watched as a large smile spread across his face and we both began making our way toward the opening in the forest.

The myrtle tree stood almost fifteen feet tall. It's trunk only getting about four feet off the ground before the entire think seemed to explode in color. Reaching out toward the sky with it's pink flowers and dark wood. The same smooth, dark wood the made up Aphrodite's staff.

"We found it!" Will exclaimed as he turned around and pulled me into a hug. I felt myself instantly melt against his body as I threw my arms around his neck. His smell enveloped me and I was filled with giddiness. We could harvest the tree, and be home. And Will and I's relationship could finally begin.

"Who are you?" A small voice asked. Will put me down and we both turned toward the source of the voice. A small girl stood at the base of the Myrtle tree. Her dress the same color as the pink flowers, and her hair was tried up in a complex bun. Her skin was dark, like the natives of the island, and the bark of the myrtle tree.

"Are you the ghost the haunts this tree?" Will asked. I inspected the girl. A powerful aura radiated off of her small body and I watched as her skin shifted. Like bugs were crawling under her skin.

"Will... That's no spirit." I said taking a step back.

"I am the guardian of the tree. Leave this place, half-bloods." She declared, her voice deepening and the sky above us darkening.

"We need this tree. We were sent by your master, Aphrodite."

"I serve no God." She declared. "I protect only the tree and nothing beyond it. Leave this place." She repeated.

I pulled out my sword slowly and Will reached into his belt for his small dagger. It would be hard to fight while linked like this. But we would if we had to.

"We need that tree, lady." I yelled at her. Around us, the temperature began to rise and the winds began to pick up. She laughed when she saw our weapons drawn and her small bare feet lifted off the grass surrounding the Myrtle tree.

"I'm not going to fight you, demi-gods." She said, her voice booming down the volcano side. Birds flew away in a panic, and animals both big and small took off in fright.

Will sent me a frightened glance. Our instincts telling us to run.

The girl raised her hand high into the air.

"Leave this place." She demanded.

The volcano around her began to release clouds of smoke that billowed out the sun itself in less than a minute. Soon, a illumination of red fire mixed in with the gray smoke. Surrounding us in a eerie cage. The smoke was so thick, we couldn't even see the Myrtle tree.

"Nico..." Will began. Before he could finish, I heard a high pitched whistle above me. Like somebody blowing a dog whistle. Faint but unmistakable. Before I could think about what it could be a huge rock crashed into the ground behind us.

"Nico!" Will shouted, losing his balance and falling to the ground. I cursed and lunged for him, wrapping my arms around him tightly and closing my eyes. Thinking of the safest place we could be right now.

I used the last of my energy to shadow travel Will and I away as the sky fell around us.

 **Had to retype all the shit.**

 **But my finals are over and I have three weeks of winter break. Hollah.**

 **This story is wrapping up guys!**

 **Only a few more chapters left!**

 **Thanks for all your support~**

 **~Hal**


	11. Chapter 11

**it's been a while guys. I've been going through some shit. And it was hard, but I'm back. I hope you like the chapter, as I FINALLY FINALLY wrap up this story.**

"Don't you dare let go." Nico shouted from above me, but below the edge of the cliff. My arm strained from the deep stretch my wrist was going through by holding my body up via Nico's hand above the nothingness below me.

"Don't let go." Nico repeated. I gave a strangled cry as I took in our situation. Hanging off the side of a cliff in broad daylight after shadow traveling away from a guardian that we weren't ready to face yet. To think we were so close to our goal, so close to going home, and it was taken away like that.

"Nico there are no shadows to travel through!" Nico only gazed down at me with pained eyes. Above us, the sun radiated heat that drove any inkling of darkness far away from the place where we hung. Below us, was a sea of tall trees that crept up the base of the mountain.

"You can't hold on for much longer." I told him. As I said this, rocks rolled from Nico's grasp on the cliff, threatening to take his grip at any moment.

"I know." Nico snapped. "Just be quiet for a second. I have an idea." Nico looked around wildly for a second before fixating on something beneath me. He made eye contact with me. He had a wild look in his eyes. A look that said he either found no way out, or an incredibly crazy and dangerous way out.

"Nico." I warned.

"Beneath us." Nico panted. Veins popped in his arms, showing the strain he was going through keeping us both momentarily alive.

"Beneath us?"

"Trees. Where there are trees there are shadows."

"Those trees are only like twenty feet from the ground. We'd die from impact before you could shadow travel us to a safer place."

"We have to try." Nico pled.

Nico was beautiful. I don't know what I was coming to this conclusion at such a moment, but I was. Epiphany waits for no man, as I gazed up at his panicked face. His expressions were as fluid and tranquil as water running over smooth rocks. His skin was pale but necessarily so. Because any small throw of light across his face made every movement more precise and attentive. However, in the blazing sunlight of Hawaii, it illuminated his face to pronounce a brilliant white. Such was framed by his ebony hair as it fell in wild directions around his face from his position hanging from a cliff.

I trusted him. Even if I didn't want to trust him, my body wanted to let go of his hand, knowing he would save me. Knowing he would come up with some last minute concoction. Such certainties comforted me as I nodded gravely to Nico.

Nico panted for a second, holding eye contact with me before a moment more, and tightening his grip on my hand before letting go of the cliff.

The wind was knocked out of me right away. It was like gravity wrapped around my lungs and squeezed any oxygen right out of my body. As my vision eroded into black, I watched as Nico contoured his body around mine. I was faced upward from the ground, and Nico, wrapped around my torso in a bear hug, was facing the impending trees. Timing it perfectly. I didn't see the ground get closer. Instead, with my remaining vision, I watched the sky. No matter how long I seemed to fall, the sky didn't get bigger or smaller. It was the constant I needed in such uncertain times with such certain feelings.

* * *

"Will." A head rested on my chest. Darkness surrounded me but it was a comfort. If I am dead, Nico could come here anytime he wanted. There's nothing I would take back, besides realizing how much I loved Nico before any of this. I thought of my mother. The cigarettes that would loiter her unconscious body wherever she seemed to pass out, compared to the women who ran a small merchandise boat. Her hair was a beautiful as I remembered it as a child. Her eyes had once again regained their soft light, and her voice spoke to me as if I were precious to her once more.

"Will please!" Nico had such a nice voice. A voice that you wonder who composed it. I always imagined voice boxes to be something that were crafted with love and care. Whomever is in charge of assigning each person a voice, I like to think they sit there and delicately care a small wooden voice box for each person. Whoever had done Nico's must have considered it their masterpiece. It was a soft, somewhat deep voice that held a consistent tone and never cracked. You could hear emotions in his voice like you can hear the wind in the trees. I thought it was beautiful and was envious at the same time.

"WAKE UP!" a hash slap was delivered to my face and my body sat up with a jolt and the darkness was suddenly gone. I blinked at the brilliant light and my eyes focused on Nico, kneeling in front of me.

"Will." Nico breathed out a sigh of relief and engulfed me in a hug. I hugged back and took in my surroundings. A boat. We were on my mother's boat. She gazed at me in worry from my bedside and I smiled at her. She smiled back and brushed the tears out of her eyes with a strangled laugh.

"You shadow traveled us to my Mom's boat?" I asked. Nico nodded. "It was the safest place I could think of right now." Nico brought his hands up to my face and kissed me softly. I froze for a moment before grabbing one of his bandaged hands and kissed back. Wait a minute…. bandaged? I pulled back reluctantly and chuckled a little bit when Nico chased after my lips.

"What happened to your hands?" I asked. Nico rolled his eyes.

"You think my hands would escape unharmed after holding your body up from falling from a cliff?" I gently unwrapped Nico's bandages and looked at the jagged cuts on his hand where the rock from the ledge had dug into the soft flesh of his palm.

"Hands are bleeding. Don't let go." Nico gazed up at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"The prophecy! I think one of the lines just came true. Hands are bleeding. Don't let go. It was talking about you holding us up on the cliff!"

"But I did let go…"

"It didn't mean don't let go of the cliff, it meant don't let go of me." I corrected Nico.

"I would never let go of you." Nico deadpanned. I froze, a warm blush creeping up my neck. Nico, finally realizing what he had said, suddenly became a bright red and looked away.

"I mean that-in that situation- if you were on a cliff- and I were also- if A cliff was involved, I mean, Well-"

"I'd never let go of you either. In any sense." I said placing a soft kiss on Nico's surprised face. Nico smiled brightly and I heard a voice clear beside us.

"Sorry mom." I muttered. My mother smiled a sad smile and something felt off about her.

"We need to get you two back up to that forest." My mother muttered.

"We can't go back there right now. That guardian, she's too powerful." Nico mussed. My mom nodded and got up from her place beside my bed.

"We have to try anyway. I have an idea." She answered. I had a feeling this idea was a very, very bad idea.

* * *

The forest seemed to be more treacherous than the first time Nico and I had traversed through it.

"Don't touch the trees." Nico warned as soon as we set foot in the forest.

"Why not?" My mother asked. She seemed confident in her idea that she had a grand scheme that will help us get past the guardian.

"After Will and I left the first time, the forest is in defense mode. These trees will suck the life right out of you." Nico said in a shaky voice.

We wove our way around the deadly trees. The atmosphere felt thick and mucky like our presence was making the forest sick. The light seemed unable to filter through the treetops, casting an eerie shadow all around us. Which I suppose was good if we needed a quick escape. I just hoped Nico could shadow travel all three of us in time.

"There it is." Nico whispered. Ahead of us was the clearing where the Myrtle tree sat in all of it's glory. It shone with godly power, and stalking in front of it was the guardian. No longer was the guardian a small girl who sat peacefully at the base of a tree, but she had morphed into a monster at least ten feet tall, thin as a rail, with long black claws, and skin stretched taut over jagged bones. A bald head sat atop the monster's body with large gray eyes, and jagged teeth that didn't quite fit in the guardians mouth. It clawed around the immortal tree with viciousness. Constantly on the lookout for any other demigods who were feeling brave that day.

"What do we do?" Nico asked.

"Aphrodite came to me while you boys were in the forest the first time." My mother said softly. Nico and I both looked at her in shock.

"She said, the guardian can only be beaten with hunger. We have to feed it." My mother muttered again.

"Well, what does it eat?" Nico whispered. My mother turned to me and smiled.

"Will. I'm so happy that I got to meet you once more. You've grown into such a fine young man. I can never express how much I regret letting you go all those years ago. My wish for you is that you never look back. And never live in the past. Nico." My mother turned to Nico. "Take care of him."

"Wait!" I muttered. "Why are you saying this right now? Save it for after the mission is complete okay?" My mother smiled and placed a soft, final kiss on my forehead before moving away from us suddenly and out into the opening of the field.

The creature saw her instantly and clambered toward her in a terrifying mass of limbs and teeth.

"Mom!" I screamed. Nico held me back, and I noticed tears were building in his eyes the same way they now streamed down mine. Nico manipulated the shadows to hold me down.

"Stay safe." Nico whispered to me, and drew his sword while following my mother into the field. Nico halted at the edge of the forest as the creature loomed over my mother. The creature raised a large, black claw and my mother glanced back at me.

"DON'T! DON'T TOUCH HER!" I screamed. My mother smiled and said something into the wind, but no voice reached my ears.

In the middle of the forest filled with both life and death, my mothers blood soaked the ground.

 **Sorry not sorry**


	12. Chapter 12

***Peeks in* Happy TOA day *drops last chapter***

It's been a blur. An absolute blur. I didn't even look. How could I? I smelt the blood before it hit the ground and I head the sharp intake of breath before I heard her body hit the ground. It was silent for a moment. The sounds of battle around be replaced by ringing sound that sat just inside my ear. I could speak. My mouth hung open as I twisted around to see Will's shocked face as he took in the scene from the edge of the forest. I recognized the look. Shock. Denial. Anger. Acceptance. The same look I had worn when they had told me Bianca had died.

"Will! Don't-" But it was too late. Will reached for his collapsible bow and pulled the string taut as an arrow formed in its proper place as he let it fly in toward the guardian with a cry of anguish.

The arrow struck and dissolved in its skin. The guardian hesitated and looked over to Will. A flash of anger in it's eyes as it turned its attention toward him. I cursed to myself. How could I let this happen?

I shifted my weight onto my opposite foot and took off toward the monster and abandoned my place by the tree.

"Will get down!" I shouted and raised my sword high over my head. Will noticed me at last and ducked just in time for my sword to cut through the thick torso of the guardian spirit. I cut halfway and had to put all of my strength in the handle to sever the spine. I felt the bone give, and my sword tore through the monster, cutting it in half.

It stopped. Claws extended toward Will who had collapsed on the ground in tears. It turned to me in shock, it's black blood running down the blade of my sword before it disappeared into the underworld.

I panted. Breathing hard as I lowered my sword.

"Will. The chain. It's gone." I panted. The chain had disappeared the second I made a nick in the trunk of the tree. Will didn't move. He didn't talk.

"Will-" I muttered, kneeling down beside him.

"Why didn't you protect her?" Will snarled at me. I drew my hand back and looked away. In all honestly, I didn't expect Will's mother to run out into the path of a greek monster. I felt even more disgusted that I didn't know what to say to Will. I swallowed the lump in my throat and sat down beside him.

"I had just gotten her back." Will sobbed. I nodded. I understood. I knew that in this situation, there were no words that could help Will. It was just something he would have to come to terms with. Nothing I said could soothe the pain of the death of somebody you loved.

I got up, and picked up my sword, flicking it downward toward the ground hard to rid it of the black blood that stained the black blade. I approached the now vulnerable tree and with one fell swoop, I cut through the thin trunk of the tree. It didn't even have time to fall before it began to glow and evaporate into golden droplets of water which came together. Condensing and forming to become a long staff with intricate designs and jewels.

"It's beautiful." A voice behind me said. I turned, my sword in hand.

"Aphrodite." I snarled. The woman stood before me. Her appearance shifting like the ocean tide. Black hair, that shifted to brown, that settled on blonde. Green eyes that shifted to blue. Short and muscular to tall and agile.

"You and your soulmate did well. As you can see, I have removed your chain. But no. It is not really removed. It's now inside you. Connecting your souls instead of your physical bodies."

"He lost his mother."

"You demigods have all lost people." Aphrodite said while examining her new staff.

"You had no right." I growled at the goddess. She looked pointedly at me.

"Watch that tongue boy, least you lose it." She warned. I didn't say anything but help my glare.

"Aphrodite…" Will's voice was weak as he walked up to us. His eyes cast downward and his hands clenching and unclenching. The woman, whom now looked like a tall, blonde lifeguard, turned to Will.

"I am sorry for your loss boy." Aphrodite said, her voice surprisingly tender. Will didn't say anything. He just nodded and looked away, gazing at the now bare tree trunk in the middle of the clearing.

"I suppose I should give you boys a lift home." Aphrodite said. Neither of us said anything but we felt the exhaustion finally take hold. Weighing us down and suffocating us. I nodded toward the Goddess.

"I am in your debt boys. Should you ever need anything, rely on love." She said with a smile before waving her new staff in front of us and we both fell into darkness.

"Nico." A voice shouted into the darkness. "Nico!"

"Will?" I groaned shifting and opening my eyes. The voice chuckled.

"Try your sister." The blinding bright light around me softened enough for me to identify Hazel looking down at me, and the soft cloth of the infirmary tent wave in the wind around her.

"Hazel." I chuckled a bit in relief. I was home. With my family. "Where is Will?"

"He woke up hours ago. I'm not sure where he went…" I sighed and flung one arm over my face. "You guys weren't hurt or sick. Just passed out from Aphrodite's wind magic. You can leave if you want." Hazel mentioned. I nodded and thanked her. Hazel had been sitting by my side since Will and I were dropped off on the edge of Camp Half-blood. I needed to find Will. I thanked Hazel once more and climbed out of the infirmary bed, grabbing my jacket and sword that were placed neatly beside me.

I walked for a while, taking in the safety and warmth of Camp Half-Blood. I definitely don't want to go on a quest anytime soon. I would stop the occasional Apollo child.

"Have you seen Will?" Most said no. Some gave me tips like 'I saw him over by the lake', or 'Yeah he was getting food in the pavilion'. I must have wondered around for hours, my heart leaping into my throat with each blonde head that I saw. The sun had begun to dip below the trees and I decided that Will couldn't hide from me forever, and I should probably start heading back to my cabin. I really needed a shower and a night's sleep.

As I walked up to my cabin I noticed a figure sitting on my cabin steps. Tall, lanky, and blonde.

"Will?" I asked hesitantly. The figure looked up at me. Will's eyes were red and puffy and I felt my heart drop.

"Have you been waiting here?" I asked him, flowing my walk down dramatically until I am standing in front of him.

"Yeah." Will admits, looking away. I don't say anything. I know what it's like to lose everybody you love. There is nothing you can say during times like that. No words can soothe the pain. Instead, I reach forward and wrap my hand around his wrist, where the red chord had recently connected us.

Will looked up at me.

"I love you." He said. It's funny how language can be such a powerful thing. We say we love many things. I love mythomagic. I love summer days. I love the rain. But to say the words 'I love you.' to somebody. An entire sentence dedicated to expressing a feeling.

Once you say it, you start an entirely new life.

"I love you too." I admitted. Will didn't smile, or laugh, or kiss me like I thought might happen. Instead, he gripped my shirt and buried his sobbing face into my torso. I wrapped my arms around him gently.

We had been through so much. Will had lost his mother, whom he had just gotten back. But in this process, we had found each other. I held Will tightly that night. I held him so tight, I thought he would break under my fingertips. And we stayed there. Under the stars and deep into the night. And it was going to be okay.

 **THIS FANFICTION IS DONE**


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